Like Fire And Ice
by Slopopina
Summary: Complete AU. Emma discovers she has special powers. She is told that she can control them, and being helped through it. She soon realizes that she is more powerful than most. One of her teacher is the greatest sorcerer of her time, and incredibly obsessing. SWANQUEEN (and a bit of REDBEAUTY and SLEEPINGWARRIOR).
1. Chapter 1

**Like Fire And Ice**

The world is not what you think it is. For the longest time, I believed it was just about ordinary people, dealing with ordinary feelings, and struggling with antagonist principles such as good and bad. Yes, for the longest time, I was just like you: wrong.

There is a vast theory among my kind, according to which we all have the possibility to access to specific abilities, encoded in our brains. I do not know for sure if this is true. It is a little like saying that everyone is born bisexual. Maybe it is true, maybe it is not... And we have no way to know for sure.

But my story begins with this. Our abilities. There are so many different skills that it is very hard for me to list them for you. But I guess you already heard about most of them. Here is a very brief list (but there are so much more).  
Some of us have narrowed powers. We can refer to pyrokinesy, empathy, telekinesis, and so on. These are the "taleners". Those who possess more than one "gift", are called the "great-taleners".  
Others can access their powers through a wand. I guess you know them as wizards (like Harry Potter and stuff). But we prefer the term "wanderers". Do not ask me why. I guess it has to do with wands, although it is quite strange. They are not really admired, to be honest, and there are often fights between them and the taleners: the wanderers saying that they are more powerful (because their powers are not limited) and the taleners saying that they are on the contrary very limited, since without their wands, they are powerless. But it is not yet relevant to speak further about this.  
We also have the "shape-swingers". They can basically change their appearances. There are many categories... Those who swing into a particular animal, those who change in more than one animal, those who can become mystical creatures, those who can modify their faces, those who can only change into persons they already saw.. Yeah, there are many categories. It is very rare to meet a shape-swinger who can change into an animal, or any kind of hybrid or change any feature of his/her personality, all at the same time. But those who can are among the most powerful of all.  
Of course, there are also the vampires. I have had such a hard time with them. But we shall talk about this later.  
And finally, there are the werewolves. I love them. They often have a hard time accepting themselves, and the Deorums help them so much.

You must wonder what I am talking about. Well, it is quite simple. Once one acknowledges and accepts that he has some talents (that are not considered as ordinary), they know it. I do not know who they are exactly. Maybe it is just a database that sends notifications to the Deorums. Or maybe it is a power they have. I really do not know how this works. But once we know who we are, it means that they know. And when they know, they come and teach us. They guide us. They protect us from ourselves. They prevent us from hurting other normal people.

To help us, they take us to special places (constructed underground, very far far away). It is a little like going back to college. Except that there are people from all ages and places. It is very rare to discover powers in an early age. In fact, most of the time, people are in their thirties when they acknowledge it... It can happen sooner or later. When it happens sooner, these people are often considered as the most powerful ones. The geniuses. You shall keep this in mind, for it will be of some relevance later.

I was talking about college... Well, there are the first years, the second ones, up until the fifth ones. We are called "Okopela" up until graduation. And once we are done, then we can choose what we want to do. Continue and help new Okopelas or go back to the normal world and get busy. Many choose to go back, and you would be surprised to know that many famous people are gifted.

But anyway. Even in our world, some very extraordinary events take place. And my story is about the most extraordinary of them all. It is known by all magic people I know, but I know some things that they do not. I happen to personally know the heroes. In fact, one of them is me. And I know all the crazy, naughty, disturbing details of the legend. So... Yes, I think I might be quite a good narrator to you. I will try not to omit anything. And explain to you everything you might not be familiar with.

So here it goes.

By the way... My name is Emma.

**Chapter 1. The arrival. **

The arrivals are always messy. The new Okopelas are often lost and do not exactly understand what is happening to them: so many things to learn and so many facts to gossip about. Personally, I miss it very much. I am not allowed to explain the exact location of our headquarters, but let me try to describe it to you. As I said, it is underground. It is quite big. There are five floors (for each year of studies), and each floor is like a little city, really - with trains to connect buildings. The first years are on the deepest floor, and the more we graduate, the closest we get to the ground. It must be symbolic.

And so, we all were transported to the deepest floor of Lahejeleo. It is the name of the "school" (if I can qualify it as such). We all found out that we had our own rooms (with a little bathroom and toilets), but there were many common places to share (such as kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms, etc.). There were dozens of buildings -linked by horizontal elevators, or streets if we preferred to walk-, to welcome the students. And the most magnificent building was the school per se, at the exact center of all the accommodation buildings. It was huge, a little like a castle. Only bigger. The walls were red, and the doors and the windows were gold. Our accommodation buildings had only six floors, but this building was reuniting all the floors of all the students in Lahejeleo. It had, at least, 25 floors, but I honestly never counted. I do not need to tell you that we were very impressed by all this (even though most of us were already adults).

When we all arrived, nobody knew anybody. We were all by ourselves, measuring each other, trying to discover if we shared the same abilities or not. Among them was my future best friend. She was 27. And she was a werewolf.

I was a cryokinesist (and though I didn't know it yet, a very powerful one). If you do not know what it is, cryokinesis is the ability to slow down the vibrations of the atoms, in order to alter temperature. The most gifted ones could even completely freeze an object. This is why we were often considered as the masters of ice. I also had the power of self healing, levitation and transportation (I could pop from a place to another one instantly, which is very cool). This is the first power I experienced: I was pursued by my adoptive father when suddenly I was not running in my street anymore, but in the hallway of my school. It was the place I was planning on hiding while I was trying to escape the man. I was so shocked that I went back to my house immediately. My "caretaker", who did not understand what had happened, hit me. And he hit me hard. So hard, he broke my nose. This is when I discovered my second power: the self healing thing. Long story short, when he started to scream because the bleeding had stopped, I yelled back at him. And while he tried to hit me again, I freezed him. And then I passed out. The Deorums found me, explained what was happening, examined me, and found out that I had one more power (not yet experienced): the levitation.

And here I was, alone, in the hall of Lahejeleo, with the rest of us. Contrary to everyone else, I had my eyes lowered, and was trying hard not to look at anyone. But I saw her, without even wanting to. And something moved inside of me. I did not know why but I felt like I could trust this woman. Her hair was long, a mix of brown and red, she had beautiful brown eyes, and a huge smile on her face. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Hi", I said. Yes. Lame.

She looked at me like no one had looked at me before. Her eyes brightened, and she smiled again. It just felt right. For both of us.

"Hi", she answered me.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Ruby. But call me Red. Ruby is stupid and I don't like it", she replied. It made me laugh. It was the first of the multiple times she made me laugh. But neither of us knew why, since it was not really funny. She felt reassured by me. Something was telling me that I could trust her. Just like that. I had never trusted anyone before, but I knew I could rely on her, just like she knew she could trust me.

"Ok Red. I'm Emma. Do you have an idea of where we should go, now?" I asked.

"Yes. I spoke with the two guys over there, and it seems that we will soon be directed in the lecture room. Something about an introduction. I didn't get everything, but I guess, they'll just explain that we're all special and that kinda stuff. Did they tell you that we were here for five years? I'm 27! I would have preferred to remain a waitress. Far less scary… how old are you?"

Her little speech made me laugh again. It was the first time I had heard someone talk so much, and so openly. I was not used to it… yet. Usually, people were afraid of me, and they tended to just avoid me. She did not. And she never did. She had been my friend right away.

"I'm 24. And I wasn't doing anything special before, so…"

It was not true. I had been working as a bounty hunter for two years. I was trying to get rid of my adoptive father, and I saw it as an escape plan. But he had adopted me when I was 14, and he had always terrified me. When I was standing before him, I was a little helpless girl all over again. And he took advantage of it. But another thing with me is that I always had been very secretive. And I sure was not confiding this kind of details to Ruby right away, even though I felt like I could trust her.

While we were talking about some random things (which unconsciously reassured both of us), a little group of persons walked to us. There was a guy and two girls.

"Hey!" said the guy. "Sorry to interrupt, but we are a little lost and since you seem to be just as lost as us, we were wondering if we could crash", he smiled.

He was not bad looking, yet not my type. Kind of the ordinary guy, with ordinary brown hair, and ordinary brown eyes. But he also seemed very kind. I looked at Red. She seemed to be fine with it, so I told him that they could stay with us, and spill what they had heard so far.

"I'm Emma, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Emma. I'm Neal, and this is Aurore and Belle".

We turned to look at the girls, who smiled at us. Aurore was a petite blonde, who seemed very sweet. And Belle was a very attractive woman… Ruby seemed very moved by her. Blue eyes, red lips, auburn hair… she lost her voice for the first time when Aurore asked for her name. I noticed her confusion, and stepped in.

"This is Red."

"Do you know who will lecture us?" Belle asked, oblivious to Ruby's confusion.

Ruby's mouth fell open at the sound of Belle's voice. And this made me laugh. Nobody but Red got why, though. She knew I had noticed. We already shared a sort of connection that I had never thought imaginable. She gave me a knowing smile and a playful tap on the elbow and I just laughed harder.

"Yes, Mr Gold and Miss Mills will lecture us" Aurore said.

Neal frowned, but did not say anything.

"Miss Mills?" Ruby exclaimed.

"Yes. Why?" asked Aurore.

"I just heard something about her, earlier" Red answered. "It seems that she is the youngest woman who has graduated from Lahejeleo. She will be our teacher this year, but I never thought she would lecture us, today!"

"Well, you seem so enthusiastic, that we only can cheer with you, Red", I said.

"How long have you known each other, girls?" Neal asked.

"Years, actually" I answered. She looked at me, and I looked at her. Our gazes locked and we smiled at each other. Not like polite smiles, you know? A genuine, "talk-to-my-soul" smile. A smile that said "I know you, do you think about what I think?" Everybody is so on edge about love at first sight. But what about friendship at first sight? Because, it sure as hell what happened to us, and it never felt so right to be with someone.

"Yes, years I endured her. It has been quite difficult, believe me" Ruby laughed. And while I was about to answer, a male voice sourly echoed in the vast hall, silencing everyone.

"You shall enter amphitheater, now."

Everybody started to walk in the same motion, and we just followed. Neal was leading the way. He sat in the middle of the last row, even if Belle did not seem quite happy with the location. While everyone sat, Ruby and I looked around. She seemed very much more at-ease and confident.

Once everyone had a seat, a group of persons entered the lecture room behind us. They directed toward us, walking just next our bench, before going down the stairs, to join the stage at the center of the amphitheater. The first person was an old man, who did not seem very accommodating. His brown hair was quite long for a man, and he walked with a stick, limping. The second one was a petite pixie-haired brunette, with a goofy smile on her face; the third one was a charming young man, blonde with blue eyes (and I could not help noticing all the women of the room looking at him); and finally my eyes fell on the most breathtaking woman I had ever seen. And I never stopped looking at her.

She was quite small, but had such a regal posture, that no one could have wanted to mess with her. Her dark hair was short, and her black eyes were weirdly shining. I had never seen someone like her, and I could not say that it was just about her incredible resplendence, or her very sexy outfit (a short and tight black skirt, a red shirt and a black blazer who shaped her perfectly). There was something more about her. Something that I had never witnessed before: inherent strength, and self-confidence; the predictability of unimaginable powers and utter intelligence. I could not take my eyes off of her. And while the woman approached me to take the stairs, our eyes locked. I saw a spark in the dark woman stare. In this moment, I swear my heart stopped beating. And when the woman looked away, I felt so alone that I wanted to cry. My heart began to beat so loud, that I looked at Red to see if she could hear it. She first smiled at me, knowingly, and then winked, smirking. And we laughed.

I bit my lower lip and went back to the woman. Through the entire lecture, I never averted my eyes from the brunette teacher. We learned that her name was Regina, and that she would teach us our most important subject: the control of our powers. The other woman was Mary, and she was teaching the behavior to adopt with "normal human beings". The younger man was David, and he teached "normal" jobs for those who had an idea of what they wanted to become later. For the others (such as me), he was willing to help us find out. The last man was the headmaster, and had a role of supervisor if we happened to need something.

Then they spoke further about our year, what we would do, where we would sleep, the places where we could find useful things (maps, pools, books, etc.). But honestly, I did not really hear all of this. Ruby filled me in later. In that moment, I just admired Regina, wondering what kind of powers she could have. I was convinced that the woman Ruby mentioned earlier was her. She must have been the youngest graduated woman of Lahejeleo; which meant that her powers were surely phenomenal. And while I was forgetting everything else, and drowned into her eyes, she looked at me. I saw that little spark again. And she smiled at me. I don't know if I answered the smile. I was lost in ecstasy, and I just wished to see her smile every day of my life. We stared at each other for what seemed years to me (but probably just seconds), and Ruby punched me, making me realize that the lecture was over. When I looked back at Regina, she was not looking at me anymore. And for the second time, it made me want to cry.


	2. Chapter 2

_We stared at each other for what seemed years to me (but probably just seconds), and Ruby punched me, making me realize that the lecture was over. When I looked back at Regina, she was not looking at me anymore. And for the second time, it made me want to cry._

**Chapter 2. Lessons.**

The next hours were total chaos... We needed to take our timetables, maps, lists of groups, keys of our rooms, etc. Ruby never left my side but we lost the three others.

"Wow. Once it's all over, you come to my room, we need to talk!" Ruby said.

"Sure" I answered. I already knew what she wanted to talk about and quite honestly, I was looking forward to it.

We found out that we were living in the same building, but not the same floor. It meant that we did not share the same common places... But we never really cared or respected that. We headed to our flats. And after we moved on, I went to her room.

"What are your timetables?" She asked me right away. "Come on, sit and show me!

"Hum, I have classes with Mary on Tuesdays, and David's on Thursdays" I paused, blushing. "And Regina's on Fridays".

"Oh cool, I've Regina on Fridays too! 2pm?"

"Yep."

"Cool" she simply repeated, looking at me.

I did not really know what to answer. And I was not sure I was happy with the fact that we would be sharing that class... Regina. 6 days before I saw her again. Seemed like an eternity.

"I would never have guessed that you were into girls!" Ruby suddenly outburst.

"I could say the same thing about you" I replied.

"Well I'm into everything. Maybe it's a wolf thing."

"What do you mean a wolf thing?"

Ruby blushed and did not answer right away. And then I understood. I would have slapped myself for being so stupid.

"Oh, you're a werewolf! So cool! You're the first I actually met! When you say you're into everything ... Does that include animals?" I joked.

"Yeah sure. Especially male wolves. Very sexy creatures." She joked back.

"True, they're beautiful. But a little too hairy for me..."

We burst out laughing.

"No, I'm not into animals. You're quite a pervert for suggesting such a thing, you know? But I like men and girls, though." She said.

"Yeah, me too." I did not feel like explaining to her that what I had just felt for Regina was not a simple attraction... I had never experienced such strong feelings before her. I cannot describe it, even now. I had barely seen her and yet... Her face was all I could see. I felt like it was printed on my retina. And it was quite disturbing.

"What did you think of Belle?" Ruby asked.

"She's very pretty" I smiled.

"Yeah... What do you think her powers are?"

"No idea. Maybe we could look for her and ask her?" I suggested.

"I'll never dare to talk to her, Emma."

"How do you want her to fall for you then?" I teased her.

It took me a lot of persuasion, but Ruby eventually agreed to go for a walk. And we met many people. At the end of the day, we had talked to a wanderer called Killian (who wore too much make up for his own good, if you want my opinion), a shape-swinger named Ariel (who could change into a mermaid, which is quite awesome), and a talener called Peter (who was able to fly and control some things with his mind -he could actually move them from a place to another... In other words he was a telekinesist).

We eventually ran into Neal, Aurora and Belle. Neal told us he was also a wanderer. Aurora was a talener (she could make herself invisible). And Belle was a vampire. It really shocked Ruby. I can tell: she remained silent for a very long time.

"So... You are also a wanderer, huh?" Asked smugly Killian to Neal.

"Yeah" answered Neal.

They seemed curiously proud of themselves. And they began to talk about their performances and what they were able to do... Aurora and Peter looked at each other. And I witnessed for the first time this toxic war between wanderers and taleners. Aurora and Peter were quite despising, and Killian and Neal were just as scornful. I was a talener... I would not be honest if I said that I was completely objective on the matter... But I would never have thought about these things like they did.

Ariel, Belle, Ruby and I just watched them. And when they asked us to take a position on the subject, we simply refused. Aurora and Peter looked at me, dumbfounded. And the two others just laughed at me. It appeared to them as the strangest thing... I did not mutter a word, and they let it go.

"Anyway. When do you have Mills, guys?" Unexpectedly asked Peter.

The question took me aback, and I blushed at the mention of _her_ name.

"Tomorrow" answered Neal

"Me too" added Ariel.

"You'll be with me, then" said Peter.

"Emma and I have her on Friday" Ruby clarified.

"Aurora and I, too!" enthusiastically shouted Belle.

It was Ruby's turn to blush. Belle seemed genuinely pleased to share the class with us. And I couldn't help but hope that the feelings Ruby had for her were mutual. By the way Belle was looking at my friend, I could not say that I was pessimistic about that.

"So what are her powers? Why everybody is so excited about her? What's the fuss?" Asked Killian.

"You're kidding, right?" Exclaimed Peter. "She's the greatest talener of the century! And the youngest additionally. Everybody talks about her, she's been contacted by the biggest magical societies. And she was only graduated last year!"

"Plus, she wrote a book about taleners..." Added Aurora.

Hum. I would have to find that book.

"No wonder why we never heard of her, then" teased Killian.

"What are her powers?" Asked Ruby.

"No one knows exactly" answered Peter. "I mean some must know, but I wonder what is true and what is not. What is sure is that she's a pyrokinesist. And a very powerful telekinesist. My powers next to her are nothing. She completely controls any objects. Some say she can teleport and change her appearance... But as I said, nobody knows for sure..."

"How comes she already teaches the most important subject matter while she only graduated last year?" Asked Ariel.

"She must sleep with Gold" laughed Killian.

I must admit... Right there, I almost hit the guy. Ruby looked at me worryingly. Which calmed me down.

"No, trust me, she doesn't", answered Neal. And I secretly exhaled, reassured. "She's very young but... Well, she's the best according to Gold... And he doesn't praise anyone easily. So she really must be incredible. And Cora –her mother- retreated, last year".

"How do you know all that?" Suspiciously asked Killian.

"I just do" frowned Neal.

"Anyway, she's not bad looking..." Added Killian.

I wanted to scream something like "understatement of the year", but I did not.

"How old is she?"

"25" answered Aurora.

"Wow! She discovered her powers when she was 20?" Outburst disbelievingly Ruby

"19 actually..."

"Wow" she repeated.

I was shocked, too. I was considered to be very young to find out that I had powers, and I was 24! But again, her mother used to be a teacher... maybe, it helped her a little.

"What were her mother's powers?" I asked.

"Teleportation, and telekinesis" answered Aurora. "And by having more than one power, she was already considered an incredible talener. It's very rare to have more than one talent".

I had not told them about mine. I did not like to talk about myself, and I had been afraid that they would think I was bragging. So I had just told them I was a cryokinesist (and they were already impressed by that, since it was not considered an ordinary gift).

"What is it like to be a vampire?" asked Ruby completely out of the blue.

Belle blushed, and Ruby – realizing what she had just said—reddened too (no pun intended).

"Well I don't think it makes any difference from being human. I love blood, but I just discovered it. My boyfriend had cut his finger, and he asked me to lick it... it's gross, saying it like that, but anyway... I almost drained him from all his blood. And I didn't even notice. I had always eaten like a normal person, I had never been afraid of the sun, or anything. The Deorums saved him, and explained to me what I was. They also told me that the moment I would embrace my true nature, I would be able to transform. I don't exactly know what they were talking about, but here I am."

"And what happened to your boyfriend?" Ruby insisted.

I almost laughed out loud at that. The only thing she would remember what the mention of her boyfriend, of course. I did not even blink, though.

"Well, as you can imagine, we're not together anymore. He was quite a jerk."

"Why did you date him, then?"

"Because he kept on insisting..." Belle said.

"I can understand why" muttered Ruby. I coughed really loud to cover her voice. I think it worked. Mostly. Belle blushed. So I guess it did not work for anyone. My friend noticed her confusion, and said:

"Well, it's getting late. Emma and I have to go, but it was really nice to meet you guys. We'll see you tomorrow and you'll explain to us every single detail of Mills?"

"Count on it, Redhead" said Killian.

"Redhead, seriously? Rubes is better" she laughed.

We waved them goodbye and left. As soon as we got away, Ruby despaired.

"Oh my god, why did I say that? You saw her face? She was completely shocked!"

"Rubes..."

"No seriously, why didn't you hit me? I suffer a severe disease of word vomit"

"Red..."

"You saw how she blushed? She must hate me, right now!"

"Ruby!"

"Hey, come on, don't call me that!"

"Listen to me, Rubes. I don't think she hates you. And if you want my opinion, I would say that she likes you. And this is the reason why she blushed. Plus, I'm sure I don't have to remind you that she didn't seem in love with her previous boyfriend!"

Ruby didn't answer anything, but her huge smile said tons. She let go, and we started gossiping about our new friends. She was not really enthused by the wanderers (who were quite smug for her), but she wasn't fond of taleners either. And I cannot say I did not agree. I felt just like her: confused by their attitude. Like it was some sort of competition. Again, it reminded me so much of high school and college. We were grown-ups now, but it did not seem to make any difference. It was even worse. And it made me sick.

"Yeah. They're like kids, looking for who will be the most talented" I said.

"Exactly! And we all know who is the most powerful..." she teased.

"Do we? And who is that supposed to be?"

"Obviously, I am!" she laughed. "Give them all to me in a full moon time, and they're all dead"

I laughed at that. I knew she was not being serious, so I played along.

"You wouldn't kill me! I would freeze you before you would even have the time to transform!"

"Oh yeah? I'm pretty sure I could unfreeze myself and run after you!"

"Please... you wouldn't be able to catch me, even if you wanted to"

And she tried to. We ran for a long time, and when we arrived in front of our building, we didn't stop, and kept on running through stairs and corridors. I love running. And Ruby was very good at it, too. So she was just behind me, laughing out loud. I was screaming, afraid that she would catch me, when I ran through a corner, and bumped hard into someone. Ruby, who was just behind me, collided with both of us, and the three of us fell loudly on the ground. When I saw who we ran into, I turned as red as Ruby's hair. It was David. And he was not alone. I'll let you guess who the two persons with him were... Ruby laughed again, and apologized. It made David grin.

"Don't worry, girls. No harm done"

"We were running, we did not see you", I added. Well, obviously. Such a witty comment... way to go, Emma. David just laughed again. I did not dare to look behind him. To look at _her_. I felt so stupid, and I was sweating. She was probably thinking that I was a foolish little girl, playing with her friend like a toddler. I felt so ashamed.

"It's all right. What's your names, guys?" he asked us.

"Ruby Lucas"

"Emma... Swan" I did not wish to tell them the name of my caretaker, so I just gave him the name I was repeating in my head, ever since I was 10.

"Nice to meet you, girls. If you still don't know what to do after your studies, I would advise you to become athletes... you were running pretty fast, there!" he said.

"I'm a werewolf. It's in my blood to run fast" smiled brightly Red.

"And what is your excuse, Miss Swan?" a low voice asked me.

_That voice_... so profound, deep and bass. And so seductive. Did she even realise how sexy it sounded? I slowly raised my eyes, and met hers. I knew I should not have looked at her. She was even more stunning than before. She was smiling at me, but I felt like she was testing me. She wanted to know if I was a werewolf, too. And I wanted to answer, but I had momentarily lost my voice. And my heart. These damn eyes. How the hell is it even possible to have eyes like _that_? They were so dark, they seemed to be black, and I suddenly wondered if one could have black eyes. Or if in the light, they would get lighter. A perfect eyebrow lifted, and I finally noticed that they were all waiting for my answer.

"Uh... no. No, I don't have the same excuse, Miss Mills. I just love running" I shrugged.

I could say that she wanted to ask me what my powers were, but before she could have a chance, Mary stepped in –which seemed to irritate Regina greatly. But she didn't say anything, and she did not stop looking at me.

"Well, you would be a perfect athlete then, Emma".

I barely heard her compliment, and could not avert my eyes from Regina. Tension filled the air, as we estimated each other. I do not know what she was searching for, looking at me like this, but she certainly found it. Her eyes darkened as she detailed my body –which still was sweaty by the run—and warmth spread between my legs. Un-fucking-believable. With only her gaze, Regina Mills aroused me beyond imaginable. I had never experienced such a rush of lust before. And I instantly imagined what it would be like if she actually touched me. Or kissed me. Or licked me. My mouth parted at the thought, and another pick of arousal grew in my stomach, warming up my whole body.

Ruby coughed loudly. I closed my mouth, realising I was oddly ogling her lips. I blushed furiously and averted my eyes, looking at David instead of her... but not before catching _her_ amused grin. _Shit_.

David and Mary greeted us and left, followed by Regina. Passing next to me, she looked at me again –although, I knew better this time than to stare back-, and greeted me with an alluring "Miss Swan". Next thing I knew, they were out of sight, and I was barely standing up. My knees felt so weak, I leaned against the closest wall. And Ruby laughed at me. Again.

"Wow. That was something!"

I did not reply anything. I just could not talk about it, right now. Was Regina flirting with me? Or was I just imagining what I was hoping for? I really needed a cold shower... and certainly not because of the running.

"Ok, honey. You just stink sex"

"What does _that_ mean?" I laughed disbelievingly.

"Well it means what it means. Your body is screaming for release, don't deny it" she mocked me.

I could not deny that. But I did not answer anything. I shrugged, like it was not a big deal, and told her I needed a shower.

"You sure do. Keep it cold" she said.

"Sure will", I winked at her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, honey"

"See you tomorrow, Rubes."

We parted ways, and while I was about to take the stairs, Ruby screamed to me:

"By the way, I totally would have caught you!"

I just laughed and walked away.

After a cold shower, and lying relaxingly on my bed, I finally thought it through seriously. What the hell were the teachers doing in our accommodation building? Ok, maybe that was not the most important question I needed to answer right now, but still... did they live in there? What if Regina was my neighbour...? I immediately stopped thinking about it, or I was up for another cold shower. So I just took my Ipod and listened to music. _Just the way you are_ of Bruno Mars started to play, and it was not the most relaxing song I could have been listening to, but it just felt right. I was seeing her eyes, her hair, her face... and I could not help thinking that the song had surely been written for her.

The warmth in my stomach was not stopping, though. I needed some fresh air. It was very late now, but I decided to go for a walk anyway. While I was exiting my room, and silently closing the door, movements on my right caught my eye. I turned, and stood up watching at Regina. I tried to say something, but she walked quickly to me, and placed two fingers on my mouth, to silent me. My eyes widened, as hers darkened. She opened the door of my room, grabbed my right hand with her left one, while the other went to my waist, pushing me roughly inside my bedroom, and closing the door with her foot. She only stopped shoving me when my knees hurt the bed, and I fell hard on the sheets.

It did not bring her to a halt, though. She straddled me, and leaned over, up until our noses brushed. I could feel and smell her breath. It was intoxicating, and the arousal I had felt before was nothing compared to what I was experiencing now. I could not think anymore, far less speak. I was so thrilled, I almost did not hear what she said to me.

"Don't look at me like you did earlier in public... ever again... I won't control myself a second time..."

It made me lose it. My hands grabbed her waist, and my lips crashed hard on hers. Her hands remained on my stomach while we kissed passionately. Our mouths opened at the same time, and our tongues met each other. They danced, fought, caressed, and played. I had never been kissed like that. By the time her hands went on my breast, and mine fell on her bottom, I was so wet and so aroused that it actually hurt. She moaned in my mouth, and I almost came. She bit my lower lip, looking right into my eyes, and licked the skin remaining between her teeth. Unconsciously, I violently grasped her buttocks, and she moaned louder.

It drove me crazy. I turned her over, now on top of her, and her legs circled my waist. Kissing her, I tore her shirt up, and threw it away. My left hand grabbed her breast, and she started rubbing against my stomach to soothe her desire...

And a scream woke me up. In fact, it was my scream that woke me up. Oh God.

Having an erotic dream about my teacher, right after meeting her... I should have been in the book of world records or something... great. It was just great. I could not sleep again after that. So I just went to another cold shower. And prayed that the dreams would stop... I wouldn't survive waking up from _that_ a second time...


	3. Chapter 3

_Having an erotic dream about my teacher, right after meeting her... I should have been in the book of world records or something... great. It was just great. I could not sleep again after that. So I just went to another cold shower. And prayed that the dreams would stop... I wouldn't survive waking up from that a second time..._

**Chapter 3. Regina**

"She's evil" stated Neal.

Ruby and I sat in the living room of my floor, and Neal had just arrived, to fill us in about Regina.

"Oh come on, she can't be that bad" said Ruby.

"Oh yes, she is! She despises absolutely everyone who is not a talener. And especially wanderers. I can't understand why Gold allowed her to teach! She's a total freak!"

Neal was so upset, he could not remain still, and just kept spacing.

"No seriously, you wouldn't believe it! She talks to us like if we were kids. I'm fucking older than she is! "Mr Cassidy, your wand is not almighty". She was so fucking scornful when she said that."

"What did _you_ say to make her say that?" I asked, already annoyed with his behaviour.

"She was talking about a guy who had not mastered his skills and had transformed into a monkey in front of normal people... I just pointed out the fact that it would have never happened with a wanderer. She answered, something like "Obviously, you do not have any inherent powers without your wand". And I answered something like "and consequently, I would never have had such problems"."

"And...? What happened next?" urged him Ruby.

"She told me my wand wasn't almighty, and she related a story of a wanderer who screwed up".

"Must have been hard for you" Ruby said, winking at me.

"It was, but not because of that... girls, I assure you, she was hateful. She wanted to humiliate me."

"Well it appears to me that you started it, Neal!" I exclaimed, fed up with his bad faith.

"She classified us!" he added.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, she asked us all our powers, and she classified us in four categories. And she made us duel."

"Who did you fight against?" asked eagerly Ruby.

Neal frowned and did not answer right away.

"Ariel" he finally said.

"Oh my God, don't tell me you lost against her! She's a mermaid; she doesn't even have powers outside of the sea, does she?" It was just too good to be true. And I was sure Regina had made them both fight on purpose.

"Yes, she does! She can throw scales with the palm of her hand. And before I knew it, she had disarmed me!" he shamefully replied.

We laughed very hard, picturing the scene.

"She's so evil" mocked Ruby.

"Indeed" I added, smirking.

Neal's self-esteem seemed pretty low at that moment, and he quickly retreated afterwards. Ruby and I were still giggling.

"That was not very nice of us" finally said Red "But I can't wait to hear the others about Mills!"

"I'm not sure I look forward to attend her class... after what happened yesterday when we ran into them..."

"Oh come on, Em. She wasn't upset. And she was totally turning you on. Maybe she's into you!"

"Ok, now you're driving me crazy..."

"It wouldn't be surprising you know. She's only one year older than you are."

"Don't tell me... I already know that", I winked playfully at her.

"I knew it, you're such a womanizer! You'll flirt with her, won't you?"

"I don't know... She's a teacher. I don't know if the rules are the same here."

"They didn't say anything about it, but I doubt they would forbid sex between them and us. We're all grown-ups, and we're not here to have better grades than others. So it wouldn't be unfair, or sick, you know?"

Her logic took me aback. She was so right. It was probably _not_ forbidden. And I had never turned down challenges, before. I was falling for the girl, so why not trying something? I grinned.

"You're so going to do her" Red laughed.

"Don't be crude, Rubes. It doesn't suit a lady" I teased her.

"Good thing I'm not one, then." She devilishly smiled.

The rest of the day was calm, and we met our new friends later to eat. Everybody talked about Regina. She was the kind of person who could not leave you indifferent. There were already some rumours according to which she was dating a senior named Graham. I tried to remain stoic. We all went to bed early, and I readied myself for the lesson I would be attending the next day: Mary's one.

I didn't dream of _her_, that night.

When I entered the classroom, nobody had arrived yet. It was very early. I was all alone, and I tried to calm my nerves. After all, this class wasn't going to be a difficult one, nor very interesting, I suspected. I was very curious to know what kind of powers Mary had, though. She seemed to be such a kind and loving person. Suddenly, the door opened, and Mary came in. She smiled brightly at me, before saying:

"You're early! The class only begins in half an hour"

"Yes, I know" I apologetically answered "but I usually like to take my time, and relax before classes".

It was kind of a bad habit I had taken, since leaving the house of my caretaker used to be the best moment of my day.

"Ok" simply shrugged the teacher.

"I know I will sound very indiscrete to you, but may I ask what your powers are?" I shyly said. I really don't know what was wrong with me to be so straightforward with people. But I just could not help it. And it made Mary smile again.

"I sense powers, and relationships. But only if I concentrate, may I add. I would not dare intrude in someone's life without his or her allowance."

"I understand".

"Would you like me try my power on you?" she replied.

"What do you mean by try your power on me? Detect my powers?"

"Yes".

I hesitated. And then, I figured there would be no harm in her knowing I had more than one power. She was waiting for my answer, softly smiling, as if for reassuring me. And it made me smile back.

"Sure, go ahead"

She closed her eyes, and put her hand on mine. When she opened them again, she seemed shocked. But I guess this was predictable.

"Do you know how many powers you have?"

"Yes. Four" I answered.

"More than that, actually. Does someone know?"

"What do you mean by "more than that"? How many do I have? The Deorums told me I had only four" I said, disbelievingly.

"If they said so, it must be true, then" she rectified quickly. "Does someone know?" she repeated.

"No, no one knows. I didn't want to talk about it."

"Well, keep it this way for a little while, then. It is never a good thing to provoke someone else's envy"

Her tone was reassuring, but her sentence was hollow. And it scared me. Although she wanted to look nice, I saw a spark of admiration through the brunette's eyes. And it disturbed me. She did not say anything else; she just walked to her desk and sat down. The students finally arrived, and the lesson began. As I was expecting, it was not very interesting. She was explaining to us what seemed to me like common sense: of course, we would not show our powers to normal people, or brag about them... but then, she gave examples. What would we do if we witnessed a crime, or a theft, or something like that?

At the end of the lesson, Mary called me. And as I went to her, she said:

"Look, I know it will seem strange to you, but you really need Miss Mills' class. When one has as many powers as you do, lessons to understand them and control them, are very much needed. I am sorry to tell you that, but I think we should both go to the Deorums to talk about this."

"And what would you suggest? That I attend more Miss Mills' classes?"

"Something like that, yes. But I will respect _their_ choice, for it is not mine to make."

And we went to the Deorums. They asked me to wait outside while Mary talked to them, and when I entered, they said that she was right, and that I needed to go to Regina's classes every day. Now, that would be interesting, I thought.

"Do I have to attend today's class?" I asked.

"Yes, you do. Does Regina know, Mary?" they asked.

"Not yet." She answered

"Can you go and tell her, please?"

Mary quickly left, leaving me alone with them.

"Mary told us that you had more powers than we originally thought" they explained. "And she is right; we cannot take the risk to leave you without someone to help you figure them out. Do not worry, though. Regina is very competent, and she will help you through it just fine. She experienced the same problems; she is very much qualified for this".

"Thank you." What else could I say? "You could have told me earlier"?

"You may go, child. Your next class will be at 2pm, and I presume Miss Mills will explain to you, your future schedule".

I thanked them again, and left. Child? What the hell? I was 24 for God's sakes!

When I entered my building, I ran into Red.

"You don't seem to be well, girl"

"Why thank you, Rubes. Do I look like hell?"

"Pretty much, yeah".

I punched her playfully.

"Ok, what's wrong? Mary's class was boring?"

"Yes, it was..."

"... but that's not the reason why you're not ok"

"Ok Rubes, you gotta stop doing that. I know we said we've known each other for years, but we don't actually do! So just stop reading me like an open book!" I laughed.

"It's not my fault! Try to better lie!" she replied. "No seriously, though. Can I help?"

"I was going to take a nap. Join me?"

"It's eleven..."

"I'm hungry".

"Fine, let's go" she smiled.

We went to her dining room and sat. She cooked some pasta and we ate.

"Ok, will you spill it out already?" she said.

"I'm having lessons with Regina every day from now on. Beginning at 2, today."

"Wow, you don't lose your time!" she teased me. "Why?"

"Because I seem to have some undiscovered powers which she will help me control" I summed up. No need for the details.

"Oh God, this is so cool!" she exclaimed. And she genuinely seemed thrilled by the news. "Don't look so sad, that's great! I would be so eager to discover what more I can do! Plus, you'll get to spend more time with Mills, don't tell me that's not good news!"

I grinned. Yes. It was good news, indeed.

"I wanted to watch a movie! Care to join me?" Ruby advanced.

"Depends on the movie..."

"The Beauty and the Beast?"

"Like in cartoon "Beauty and the Beast"?"

"Yeah..." she blushed. "I don't know why but I feel like watching it..."

"Fine"

By the time it was over, I had 15 minutes left to go to Regina's class, and I did not even know where it was. Of course, nobody would have cared to tell me. And I did not bother asking. I could have hit myself.

"I need to go, Rubes! See you later!"

"Good luck with your girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend... yet" I winked, and left.

I asked every person I crossed where the class was being given, and eventually a boy knew the location. I arrived there with only a minute late, and mentally high-fived myself. When I opened the door, everybody was already sat, and they all looked at me. I did not dare to raise my eyes to meet _hers_, and I quickly sat on the first chair I saw.

"Thank you, Miss Swan, to honour us with your presence".

I looked straight in her eyes and provocatively smiled at her. Her eyebrows raised, and her surprised face almost made me laugh. But I had no intent on angering her. What I wanted from her was far more thrilling.

"I'm very sorry, Miss Mills. I had not my schedule, yet. And I had not been informed of the location of your class. It won't happen again".

A little suck-up could surely help me out there, right? I smiled again. It took her two seconds to answer me.

"Fine. I will keep this in mind." Her tone was threatening, and my smile faded. She had not smiled back.

Her eyes left mine, and she resumed talking where she most surely had stopped when I came in.

"As I said, it is vital for you to control your powers. I am here to help you do so. And fear not, I shall not give up on you. At the end of the year, you will be able to activate your powers without even thinking about it. In order to do that, we will have to train. And by training, I mean concrete practices. I will divide you in four groups, according to your skills, and you will duel with persons from other groups. Do you have questions?"

No one spoke, and she asked us to introduce ourselves, describing our power. She sat on her desk, and I noticed for the first time since I arrived, how sexy she looked like. She wore killer black hills (and I could not be sure from where I was, but I was fairly certain they were Louboutins) and her black skirt was very short. Her legs were such a masterpiece. I was so lost in contemplation, I did not even bother looking her shirt... she coughed, and I quickly raised my gaze to see if she had noticed my looking in awe... and the least I could say is that she had. She was looking directly at me. And she was not smiling. A student was saying she was a werewolf, but Regina did not seem to listen to her. Or maybe she was, but she did not show. It amused me very much. And well, to be honest, it aroused me very much, too.

I then decided to test her. After all, I had nothing to lose, and I was not 15 anymore. I knew all about flirting, and taking risks. I had never wanted someone as much as I wanted Regina, and I was definitely going to take my chances.

So I raised an eyebrow, grinned, and slowly lowered my gaze. I fixed her mouth for several seconds, and went back to her eyes. Her expression remained the same, but she stiffened. Devilishly grinning again, I lowered my eyes one more time, but didn't stop at her mouth this time. I stared at her cleavage. And trust me... if her legs were a masterpiece, her breast was a gift from the Gods. I unconsciously bit my lip. My hands held violently the desk when I noticed goosebumps forming on her chest. An electrifying shiver ran through my body, and butterflies erupted in my stomach. I looked in her eyes again, but she had averted them, now focusing on another student who was describing his wand. But her hands were also holding on her desk, and she was biting her lower lip. I became even wetter at the visual.

"Well, thank you Eric" she said. Her raspy voice drove me crazy, and it reminded me of the dream I had had two nights ago. I could not have been more turned on right now. She cleared her voice, and continued "Miss Swan, would you please introduce yourself?"

"Sure" I ironically answered. My smile was supposed to be teasing – and from Regina's frown, I was pretty sure, it was having the right effect – but truth be told, I really had no idea what to say about me... "Hey I'm 24, I'm an orphan, and I have at least four powers, including three I've already experienced, but possibly far more... oh and I'm a lesbian"... now that would surely be something. But anyway, I had to show Regina what I was capable of. So, I rose up, never stopped smiling, and I answered, only looking at her:

"Hey guys, I'm Emma Swan. I discovered my power six months ago. I'm still not very sure about what it is, but I think it's called cryokinesis. It's rather cool, I feel like Piper Halliwell, freezing whoever I want, whenever I want. But I never do that, of course. I'm a bounty hunter, and trust me, it would have been far much easier if I had had my power before. And that's about it, I guess".

I paused, and then added quickly, never leaving her intense gaze:

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. I'm single, too."

Regina did not show anything. She stayed stone, and not even blinked. She did not smile either, which was beginning to bother me. Maybe she was not into women. And maybe she already had a boyfriend, that so-called Graham. My smile faded at the thought.

"Thank you, Miss Swan. Students, you all know who to contact if you feel lonely, now".

Hum. Stupid. I just felt stupid. And the look on some guy's faces was just very disturbing. When another guy began his introduction, my closest neighbour leaned toward me, and whispered:

"I'm Grumpy. And I'm single, too". With that, he had the audacity to wink at me.

"I'm not interested".

There: very witty answer. So much like me. I rolled my eyes at me and that stupid guy. My eyes fell one more time on Regina who was looking at me, again. I averted my eyes. First, I was pissed at myself for imagining things. Second, I was pissed at her, for not being interested in me. And third, I was pissed at her, because I did not really believe she felt nothing for me. Maybe I should try another approach. She did not seem to like straightforward-women, so I could try manipulation. Try to make her jealous, or something. The idea that she could possibly be jealous of someone like Grumpy was laughable, but why not try it anyway?

I leaned toward him slowly, grinning, and asked if he had fire.

"You want to smoke here, sista?"

"Of course not" I almost rolled my eyes again "but if I want to, I'll know who to ask". This time, it was my turn to wink at him.

"Do you have some important things to share, Miss Swan?"

Her tone was freeking hot. Even though it seemed rather annoyed. And I couldn't help thinking that maybe my plan worked. I simply shrugged and looked at her. And Grumpy said:

"She just needs fire, Miss"

I could not believe his stupidity. Who would say that to a teacher? Ok, we were not in high school anymore, but still... who liked narks? I stared at me angrily, and he smiled at me. We surely were not going to be friends. And then, Regina lightened a fireball in her hand.

"Is that what you want, Miss Swan? Because it can easily be fixed".

And now she was grinning at me. Couldn't have she smiled earlier, for Christ's sakes? And I figured that it was some kind of a test, so I just played along, to see how far she would be willing to go.

"Thanks, professor. But I'd rather not be set on fire this way"

Her eyebrow rose, and her eyes flashed. She kept smiling, but the fire ball did not disappear. She wasn't done yet. And I could not help but glare at her smile. Her teeth were so bright and perfect, it almost seemed unfair.

"Lesson number 1, students" she said.

And with that, she threw the fireball at me. Most of my classmates ducked – Leroy first – but I stayed still, not really thinking about anything. And I froze it. Just like that. I did not even know I had that in me, but right now, I was astonished she could have done this, turned on by her perfection, and pissed off by her attitude. My stare must have hinted her on my feelings, because her smile grew even bigger.

"Very well, Miss Swan"

The fireball disappeared.

"Get by groups of two. I do not care who you decide to team with. Miss Swan, you will fight against me"

I almost jumped on my feet at that. It was going to be so interesting. Perhaps she finally decided that the game was worth it. Everybody got into motion, and some were already talking about what had happened, but I was not really listening. I just moved to her, grinning smugly. I could not help it. When I was close enough, so nobody else could hear what we were saying, she told me:

"You should not play with fire"

Her eyes were provocative. So was her voice. In fact, her whole body was, and my eyes lowered again. I bit my lip at the sight of her breast and put my hands in my pockets to prevent them from doing some _very inappropriate_ things.

"And you should learn to stop ogling your professors, too"

I was so turning her on. And I was most certainly not going to stop there.

"Professors? I only have eyes for you, Miss Mills"

Now her stare was darkening, and the lust I could see was surely not to be mistaken with something else. If my panties survived this, I would consider myself lucky. She answered my comment by throwing at me another fireball. I froze it again. And she kept on throwing things at me, never breaking our eye-contact. It was passionately aggressive. Even sex never felt that good, and I was seriously beginning to wonder how she could make me feel that way without even touching me. Her hand rose and the desk behind her elevated in the air. She threw it at me, and I disappeared to appear just next to her.

I grabbed her arm (which almost felt like an electrocution) and whispered in her ear:

"Is that all you got?"

"You have no idea what I'm capable of" she whispered back, turning slowly to face me, intensely looking in my eyes. Shivers stroke my whole body, and I knew she was feeling it too.

"Back at you, professor", I answered, staring at her lips.

She closed the small gap between us, her nose now brushing against mine, and said:

"Bring it"

And then she disappeared. My frustration was so intense, I am quite positive it could have created a hole in the floor. I heard a whistle somewhere behind me, and I felt tired of defending. I wanted to attack. I turned around, knowing she would be there. And the instant I laid my eyes on her, I pictured ropes binding her. And I'm sure you very well guess what happened next, but I will say it anyway: it happened. Very tight ropes were now encircling her, preventing her from moving. But she did not seem scared. On the contrary, she proudly (and a little bit sadistically) smiled and the ropes fell on the ground, changing into snakes. Which were now moving toward me. I quickly wondered what would eat snakes. But I could not come up with a solution, and I thought that a big rock falling on their heads would do just fine. And it happened again. Regina raised her hand and the rock elevated before being thrown at me. I froze it just before it hit me, and touching it, I made it become sand. This time, Regina did not bother catapulting things at me, she elevated me instead. And I tried everything to be freed from her grip but nothing worked.

She smirked again. Her gaze travelled my body, and I clearly saw that lust in her eyes again. I realized everyone was looking at us, mesmerized. They all seemed in shock, and I could not blame them. I was, too. Nobody could see it, but I felt a delicate touch running on my body. The touch would go wherever _her_ eyes landed. When it reached my breast, I gasped loudly, and her eyes widened even more. I could feel she was about to lose it, too. And I wondered what would happen if we both did. I could make very sinful things to her in front of the class, and it would not bother me for a second...

"Class dismissed. You may go, now".

And with that, she went away, her grip on me released. I landed softly on my feet, and everybody cheered me. They were all blown away by what they had just witnessed, and asked me hundreds of questions. But I could not think about anything else than her. So I ran away too, not exactly knowing where I could go.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Class dismissed. You may go, now"._

_And with that, she went away, her grip on me released. I landed softly on my feet, and everybody cheered me. They were all blown away by what they had just witnessed, and asked me hundreds of questions. But I could not think about anything else but her. So I ran away too, not exactly knowing where I could go. _

Chapter 4. Frustration.

Even now, I perfectly remember how deeply confused I was. Because I could feel it: something powerful was linking me to Regina. More powerful than destiny, it felt like fate. I just knew it. And weirdly enough, I knew she felt it, too. When I told this to Ruby, she laughed at me, though. She would not believe it. And honestly? How could she? It was nonsense. Even for me. I had never believed in love, ever before. I was convinced that it was a human invention, condemned to just fade away with time. That no love could be eternal. But what I felt for Regina did not feel like love. It felt like everything. And I did not even know the woman. I really cannot describe it; I still do not comprehend it. I could not understand something I had always been so sure could not exist.

But anyway. Days passed. The lessons were disturbing. Regina would avoid eye contact all the time. She would not fight against me anymore. I tried to stop thinking about her. I was overwhelmed with my feelings. I had never been the type of girl who could easily fall for someone. And I was not the type of girl who enjoyed feeling dependant. I considered myself a free spirit and I intended to keep it that way. And Red helped me. She thought the "fate thing" was pushing it too far. She made me think I was thinking crazy... that it was laughable. And it did not take long to persuade myself that I was exaggerating. I could not help the attraction, but I was able to control myself. My blood was burning every time I was near her, but my brains were in control and extinguished the impression quite well.

My powers grew nonetheless. And I knew she was observing me very closely and discretely. That was her job after all. It took me two weeks to control my transporting power and two others to master the picturing one. The cryokynesism was not a problem. I also discovered that I could move the object that I had just frozen. It took only a little more concentration. I had difficulties controlling that, though.

But I was bored. I do not mean to brag here, trust me, but there was no challenge. Nobody was strong enough to measure me. And the only one who could have would not. It was frustrating. And soon, I stopped going to her lessons. She did not make any comment. I would still go with Ruby, of course. And we were having tons of fun. She threw very big objects to me (her strength actually amazed me) and would tell me what to do while throwing them. Once, she even asked me to transform a table into birds. And I was the first surprised when I succeeded. When I looked at Regina to check if she had seen it, her gaze was averted. But her eyebrows were frowned. And her expression was concerned. It made me want to hug her. I looked back at Ruby who was looking at me knowingly. She came by my side, smiled and hugged me lightly, kissing my cheek. I smiled back at her. She then said "let's go", took my hand, and we exited the room. I did not look back. If I had, I would have seen _her_ gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

It had been six weeks since we last spoke. Killian and Neal were both hitting on me... and I must admit, I really needed to take my mind off of _her_. So once or twice, I might have got out of control with them. They were not really my type, I was clearly into girls... but they were a descent enough distraction. And it was all I needed. This had awoken a sort of competition between the two of them – which I had found very entertaining given that I could not care less about these guys. Neal seemed to have the upper hand, most of the time. They were both wanderers, and he obviously mastered it better than Killian. They got used to assisting the Friday lessons to be with me and tried to impress me – miserably failing, of course. Regina did not even seem to notice the fact that they did not attend the right courses.

It was during _that_ Friday that things changed and I realised important matters I had considered frivolous before. The big news of the day was about Cora Mills. She was the new ruler of the magical world. A sort of President of magical people. Her role was to give us guidance and punish those who would not respect our rules. It was not lost for anyone that Regina was her daughter. And the latter seemed not particularly thrilled of her mother's success. So it's a rather pissed off Regina Mills who entered the room that day. Everybody went silent, and she simply said (not even lifting her head as she sat):

"You know what to do. Groups of two. Proceed."

The fights started. Ruby and I were laughing as usual. And as usual, Neal and Killian were trying to defeat each other. Suddenly, a guy named Philippe laughed at them. He was a talener (he could throw stakes with the palm of his hands to be precise). My two suitors asked what was so funny and Philippe answered:

"Always fighting each other, but what if you tried a talener? Are you that frightened to be proven weaker than us?"

Peter approached them, smirking too. I did not like that sort of competition between taleners and wanderers, but I remained silent, simply watching. I failed to notice that most of the students actually were – and that included Regina. Neal and Killian looked at each other, clearly not happy with teaming up against Philippe and Peter.

"Look guys, we have some issues we have to settle down here, but maybe next time" answered Neal, annoyed.

"You chicken". This time, Philippe was truly making fun of them. And it was not in a gently teasing way. Killian lifted his wand at the exact moment Philippe threw a stake at them. The wooden pick disappeared. And another one was sent at them alongside with a chair thrown by Peter. The fight began. It was quite impressive. Just as some would think that the taleners were winning, the wanderers would make their way through it and take control. Eventually Peter succeeded to disarm Killian thanks to the distraction Philippe was causing to the boys. The wand disappeared and Neal was alone against the two taleners, which led to his loss. The taleners and shape-swingers cheered for the winners, whilst the wanderers remained quiet. Philippe kept on humiliating them. And then he said:

"You should choose your lovers more wisely, Emma".

Ruby threateningly growled at that and they stopped laughing. I was not even surprised that the guy knew about them. Of course, Neal and Killian would not remain discrete about it. But that had been said loudly, in front of Regina, and I was mortified. I could not help but look at her. She had stiffened, which meant she had clearly heard what Philippe had said. And finally she was looking at me. She did not seem betrayed or anything. She simply stared at me, furious. She was jealous. By the time I realised it, she had stood up – which was a good thing; I would probably have smirked otherwise.

"Nice fight, guys. Do you remember what you told me at your first lesson, Mr Cassidy?"

"That stupid accidents would not happen to wanderers?" he answered angrily.

"Precisely." She smirked. "A talener is very powerful, and the source of his power resides inside of him. Depending on another object is a weakness. And life must have taught you that already, students; but dependence is a weakness."

I was fairly positive that her speech was addressed to me. But I focused on Neal's reactions. First it would make her even more jealous; and second I was genuinely interested in what he was going to reply. He was clearly not pleased with her statements, and believed wands were a higher level of magic.

"You just had the proof that taleners will always have a huge advantage on wanderers" Regina kept on.

"But you forget one thing, Professor." Burst out Neal "We can do any type of magic with our wands"

"And yet, any type of magic did not help you master wooden sticks, and flying chairs" despicably answered Regina.

Neal was fuming. I could feel his rage emanating from him. Regina held up her hand, and the two wands materialized. I was truly impressed with her abilities. I had no idea how she could have done that. She then said:

"I have not convinced you, my dear. What do you think about that: all wanderers present here having a fight with one and only talener?"

"Would that talener be you?" asked Killian amused.

"It would not, I am your teacher, and I am here to observe your progresses. So no... that talener would be Emma."

She challengingly looked at me. She was trying to punish me. Or make me defeat the boys so that they would feel humiliated by me. Either way, I did not want to comply.

"I am sorry, Professor. But I would surely not be powerful enough to win. There is no point in fighting here, it would clearly be unfair. Plus, I tend to agree with Neal: they don't have the same magic, and they depend on their wands, but it doesn't mean that they're less powerful than us." I turned to the two guys "Seriously, your magic is impressive, and I would have loved to be a wanderer" I smiled at them.

They smiled back at me, radiant. On the contrary, Regina was infuriated. Nevertheless, unlike Neal, she was a good actress, and did not show it. But I could see her rage in her eyes, and feel it rushing in her veins as if it were in mine. She remained silent. Students did not. My words had just created the biggest polemic I had ever witnessed up until now.

"Yeah, sure... you would have loved to be a wanderer, but you're still glad you're not, aren't you?" laughed Peter.

"Of course she is! She would not exchange her powers for anything!" added Aurora.

"Oh please, it's great to have a wand that can do anything we want" countered Grumpy.

"You're just jealous is all" said angrily Killian.

And it went on and on for several minutes. But Regina and I never stopped fixing each other. I could see her anger, frustration, resignation and so many other things I was experiencing myself. Eventually, she broke the eye-contact and asked for silence.

"I can see you are all disagreeing. I think you understood my point of view on the matter. The best way to make you understand it would be for me to fight the most skilled wanderer."

"And why would _you_ affront him or her?" scornfully asked Neal.

"_Because_ _I am_ the most powerful talener, dear."

"Emma seems also pretty strong to me" said Peter.

"As a matter of fact, she is." Regina admitted. "Would you like to see a dual between us?"

So much to try to stop thinking of her. At this point, I could not tear my eyes away from her. I could feel my blood rushing to my heart, and I knew I would not be able to forget her, after that.

"We both know you would win, Professor." I said.

"Class dismissed. Miss Swan, we need to talk."

Her tone was royal and imperative. My desire to fly away from her was huge. But I evidently could not. So I sat on the first chair I saw, and waited for the students to be gone. Ruby looked at me concerned, but I did not see her, focusing on Regina.

My professor was not looking at me. She simply went back to her desk and pretended to look at her phone. I did not know what she was about to tell me, and it was putting me on edge. I was afraid of her, afraid of my feelings, and more importantly, afraid of the reactions I could have, depending on what she was about to say.

When we finally were alone in the room, she looked at me. Like, really looked at me. Her eyes were piercing me, as if she was trying to read my soul, which she was most certainly trying to do. The anger was gone, but she seemed annoyed. Her gaze lowered to my mouth for a second, and it did not escape me. She greeted her teeth.

"I noticed your powers have grown."

Not quite the topic I was expecting.

"They have." I waited for her to add something, but nothing came right away. She simply kept on expectantly glaring at me. Suddenly, the door opened, and a man I had never seen before came in. He was tall, brown curly hair, and brown eyes. To be fair, he was quite handsome, actually.

"Graham. May I introduce you to Emma Swan. She's the talener I have spoken to you about. Miss Swan, this is Graham, a shape-swinger and a talener."

So here he was. That Graham I had heard so much about. I could not help the jealousy burning.

"Emma, it's a pleasure to meet you."

I did not answer anything, and simply nodded at him, my eyes returning instantly on Regina.

"I would like you to train together, under my supervision. Graham, you are in your fifth year, and I think it will be interesting for both of you". Her tone was neutral. My feelings were not.

I did not know what to answer, so I stood up and waited. Graham turned to her, whispering:

"Regina, I need to talk to you about something first."

It infuriated me. So I acted foolishly, pretending not to have heard a thing. I started the fight. The chair I had been sitting on, flew violently towards him, and without Regina's intervention, it would have hit him. With a flick of her whist, it crashed on the wall. She warningly glared at me.

"What? You asked for a fight!" I defensively said.

Graham seemed shocked. He surely was not used to that kind of thing.

"Oh please, don't tell me you're scared" I laughed at him.

I wanted to provoke him, to seethe my jealousy. I was not even denying it. I knew why I was so angry at the guy. But I was not expecting him to look at me, smiling.

"Quite the temper, as you said", he told Regina.

"I'm still here" I replied.

"Indeed you are" purred Regina. Her voice almost made me moan, and I was not the only one affected by it, considering the way Graham looked at my professor. She stood up and went to him. She grabbed his arm and whispered something in his ear I could not hear. I do not think I have to describe my rage at that moment. You can easily imagine it by yourselves. I simply clenched my fists. She released her grasp and he nodded at her. She went back to her desk.

"Well, you shall begin now, dear."

Without even moving, the chair previously crashed in the wall, rebuilt itself, and was thrown a second time at the man. He was ready. A sort of bubble formed around him, and the chair exploded against it. I kept on throwing things at him without further results. His face did not express anything. He was waiting. I quickly understood that the bubble was not going to weaken. So I elevated him in the air. His face remained neutral. He did not try to release himself. Maybe he could not. I was getting bored by the second. Clearly the guy could protect himself, but could not do much to attack. Then, he transformed into a wolf. The surprise made me lose my grip on him. As soon as he touched the ground, he leaped to me. I tried to freeze him, but my powers did not affect him. And then I understood I would not be able to use my powers on him, in his wolf-form. He was about to reach me, when I managed to make him a human once again. And then I froze him, and ejected him toward the wall, my hand up in the air, tightening around his neck, suffocating him.

"Not really impressive, for a wolf" I coldly said.

"Enough!" Regina exclaimed.

I did not listen right away, and she made me turn to her, my hands tightened in my back, as if I were handcuffed. But I still did not release Graham.

"Enough" she repeated.

I impassively looked at her, and waited two more seconds before releasing Graham. He crushed on the floor, gasping.

"Leave us" she said. But he could not catch his breath, so with a little movement of her hand, she helped him. He seemed to breathe normally again, thanked her, and with an insistent gaze to her, he left.

"Don't tell me you're dating that." I could not help it. Childish, right? She looked at me, clearly amused. My hands were still tightened in my back.

"You seem to have even worse tastes, dear" she answered.

"I don't date them" I replied, furious she just confirmed being with Graham.

"You have pets? Funny, I did not picture you as the monkey types."

"I am not the one into animals here, Professor"

She genuinely laughed at that, and released me. Then, she slowly made her way throw the chairs' remains toward me.

"As you probably know, my mother has just been designated to be the new ruler of our world. She is looking for powerful taleners."

"And you're telling me that, because...?"

"Because she thought of me, of course. And she asked me if I knew other valuable practionners. I must say, I am very impressed by you. What you just did to Graham was... unexpected. I was wondering if you would be interested in working for our Government."

By the time she finished her sentence, she was right in front to me, almost touching me.

"Why would I be?" I weakly asked. I hated the power this woman had on me. "I just started my studies here, and I have four more years to do."

"You know as much as I do, that you do not need them. And I could help you with that, anyway. We would work together..."

My mind was having a hard time registering what Regina was offering.

"Er... you want me to work for the Government... with you?"

"I do." Her eyes were shining. I wanted so bad to touch her skin, feel her touch, smell her breath, and kiss her lips. I could have died for that. I tried to get control back.

"What is the job?" I asked, backing off. But with every step I would take backward, she would take one forward. I knew my reaction was weak. And I knew a wall would end up stopping me sooner or later. But it was either being a coward, or being a rapist...

"My mother has a very interesting point of view. She wants taleners to be reckoned. She wants them to rule us."

And there the wall was. As soon as I felt it against my back, I felt Regina's body against my front. And next thing I knew, I was grabbing her neck, bringing her impossibly closer. Her body was perfectly fitting mine, as if they had been made for one another. One of her hand was resting on my hips, the other on my neck, gently brushing it, which made my whole body shiver. My two hands were now cupping her face, and our lips were actually slightly touching. She was breathing in my mouth, as I was in hers, and the simple fact was so terribly exciting. She was playing with me, barely caressing her lips against mine, her head tilting from left to right.

"So what do you say?" she murmured.

"Uuuuuuuuuum... what?" I whispered.

She bit my lower lip, never losing the eye-contact. I tried to kiss her, but she pushed back just a little, her hand on my neck forcing me to stay still. One of my hands got lost in her hair, and I tried to bring her to me, but again, she resisted. She gasped in my face, her hand on my hips tightening, and she closed her eyes. Her forehead came resting on mine.

"Stop it", she murmured.

I could not answer to her. I could not even think anymore. I was dying to kiss her, and to caress every inch of her body. My grasp on her neck and hair frustratingly tightened. I was about to beg her to kiss me, when she freed herself from me, stepping back. She bit her lip, cleared her throat and walked away. She sat on her desk, crossed her legs, cleared her throat again, and said – unsuccessfully trying to regain composure:

"I am offering you a job, Miss Swan. What do you say?"

I had not moved an inch. I was using all my self control not to rush to her, lay her on the damn desk and... I cleared my throat as well, trying to stop my thoughts.

"What could I possibly do for the Government?"

"I am not sure about what she wants us to do... yet. But I can assure you that it will be well remunerated."

"I'd rather finish my first year..." I answered.

I did not want to give her the satisfaction of controlling me. I did not want her to feel that she indeed could control me. I wanted to show that I could resist her... just like she had done. I did not want to be her toy... or at least, not like this...

She greeted her teeth, but did not try to persuade me.

"Fine" she simply answered. And she went away. Again.

And now I was completely sure I could not stop thinking about her. Just to think that I had almost kissed her made me want to die. She stopped at the door, and turned her head to me.

"You do realize that I cannot... _be_ with a student, right?" She paused. "But having sex with a colleague would not be such an issue..."

Well, that was pretty much straightforward.

"Really? No, Professor. I had not realised that adults couldn't be... intimate, in this school" I answered. My voice was so hoarse. Her eyes blackened.

"I am your teacher." She answered.

"You're barely older than I am."

"And I am still your teacher" she smirked.

I could not help it. I started moving to her. Her hand was still on the door handle. She stayed still, and never left my intense gaze. When I got very close, she seemed to realize what was happening, and tried to go away, but before she could, I was grabbing her wrist with one hand, and her waist with the other. She petrified. Her front was against the door and I pressed my body against her back. Then, I whispered in her ear:

"Do you always follow the rules you're given?"

She shivered so hard, I actually felt it under my fingers. My hand on her waist slowly pulled up, caressing her back, all the way up to her neck. Then I gently grabbed her hair, leaning her head on the right, to have a better access to her skin. I kissed her collarbone, which made her breathe heavily. I softly licked her neck and she moaned. I was so turned on, my core was achingly burning. When I bit her ear lobe, she begged me to stop. And her whisper could not have been more arousing. But I stopped anyway.

"Well, do you?"

We remained still. She was trying to slow her breathing, and calm down. I was just enjoying the fact that I could have this kind of power on her. I knew that she felt the same way. I smelled her hair, she stiffened, and I felt her hand tightening on the door handle. It made me smile.

"Yes, I do."

She slowly turned around, and my arms fell back on my sides; but I did not step back.

"I am your teacher" she harshly repeated. "And you will respect me accordingly".

"I was not trying to disrespect you, Professor. The fact is..." One of my hands cupped her face. "I feel very attracted to you." I moved even closer to her face and whispered "And so are you" Our lips were now brushing "Being my teacher doesn't change or stop the attraction".

She parted her lips for a second, but pushed me away, grabbing my collar.

"I will not do that as your teacher, Miss Swan. This needs to end now..."

"What if I decide to stay in school for the next four years?" I teased her, grabbing her waist.

She brought me back close to her mouth, and breathed:

"Then we will both suffer."

Once again, she bit my lower lip, and before I could register what was happening, she stormed out of the room.

The days passed, and she avoided me. During classes, she was back at ignoring me. And I could not stop thinking about her. When I was not with her, I longed for her touch. I still felt her teeth on my mouth. I still smelt her incredible breath. And when I was with her, I tried to impress her by any means. I was surely completely ridiculous. Ruby sympathized with me. She even decided to accompany me to her classes every day. But still, Regina would not look at me.

Cora Mills had been at the head of the Government for merely one month, when she passed her first draft bill. It was about creating specific schools for wanderers, in order for them to be separated from the taleners and shape-swingers. I had never seen the school like this. Everybody had their own ideas on the matter. The wanderers talked about discrimination. The taleners talked about improvement. They thought it would be beneficial for everyone. Duals broke out more and more frequently, even outside classes. Wanderers were becoming angrier and on the defensive, while the taleners were provoking and pedantic. David and Mary did not express their opinions on the matter, but Regina... well, Regina was being Regina. She clearly approved this, even though she was smarter than expressly saying it. And I could not believe that such an intelligent woman approved something like this. It reminded me of the Nazis or the racial segregation. We were back at creating castes among our kind. And it just did not feel right.

"So, this is what your mother is trying to create? This is why she needs talented taleners?" I asked Regina at the end of a class.

We were alone in the room, separated by a substantial distance – necessary for me to be able to think without being a little too... intoxicated.

"And according to you, what is my mother trying to create?" she smirked, focused on her papers.

"I don't know... maybe you can tell me"

She stopped what she was doing, and intensely looked at me.

"She is trying to improve the education system. She wants students to have their best chances."

"By separating them? And creating an insane competition between us, in the process?" I tried to remain calm. I wanted her to understand, and reassure me.

"You have to understand that I cannot be an appropriate teacher for wanderers. I have absolutely no idea of how their magic works, or how to make them control it. A separation may seem... harsh for you, but it is for the best. And our job would not be about that, Miss Swan."

"What would it be about, then?"

"I have no idea, dear" and she seemed sincere.

"Why would you take a job you know nothing about?"

She smiled, but her smile was anything but genuine. It seemed sarcastic and annoyed.

"Let's just say that one does not contradict Cora Mills."

"When will you start working for her?"

I did not want her to leave. I was desperate for her to say, but I would never confess that, of course. Even though my voice must have betrayed my feelings.

"At the end of the year."

Her tone was neutral. But her eyes were saddened. Six months. In six months she would be out of my fucking life. She added:

"Will you come with me?"

I could have died looking into her brown eyes while she asked that. She was so beautiful, it hurt. But something was off in the job she was proposing... something about Cora's Government just did not feel right, despite what Regina thought. And I was not ready to make a choice on something that would affect the rest of my life. I was not even sure I wanted to stay in the magical world, once I would be done studying. And I got the feeling that once I would be in the Government, there would be no way out...

"I can't" I answered

Her voice hardened:

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not sure I wanna work for your mother... even less when I'm not sure she's a good ruler... no offence intended, Professor"

"Some taken, Miss Swan. You do realize that a similar offer won't happen again, right?"

"Right" I answered.

She frowned, and kept looking at me. I could not tear my eyes away from hers. She deeply exhaled, stood up and left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

"_Because I'm not sure I wanna work for your mother... even less when I'm not sure she's a good ruler... no offence intended, Professor"_

"_Some taken, Miss Swan. You do realize that a similar offer won't happen again, right?"_

"_Right" I answered._

_She frowned, and kept looking at me. I could not tear my eyes away from hers. She deeply exhaled, stood up and left the room. _

**Chapter 5. Magic**

"Come on, you need some fresh air!" Ruby said.

I growled. She was sitting on my bed, right next to me, and had just woken me from a dream. The dream was about teasing, and never succeeding in kissing a certain teacher.

"Fuck, Rubes! What time is it?"

"It's nearly noon, sleepy head! Rise and shine! You need to eat, and I need to go out! I already made us sandwiches, and everything! Come on!"

"Red, I'm not even washed…"

"Well, use your picturing thing!"

I laughed at that.

"I'm not sure it works that way, you know"

She sighed, obviously exasperated with my behavior.

"And I'm sure it does! Get up and picture you all clean, with clothes, and tadam! That's it!"

I got up, and tried it. But it did not work.

"See? Told you so…"

"Oh please, you didn't even try! Don't think I'm an idiot! Close your eyes and concentrate, for Christ's sakes!"

Once again, I did as I was told. This amazed me; I was not the kind to comply with orders. I pictured myself cleaned, with a pair of jeans, a casual white shirt, and my red jacket. By the gasp Ruby made, I assumed it worked this time.

"Wow! I'm so jealous of you right now! You actually smell as if you had just taken a shower! This is unbelievable! You should do something about your hair, now. Curl it, you look gorgeous when you do! And put on some make-up, too."

I laughed again, and did so.

"Again… wow. I'm not sure if I love you or hate you…"

"Well, if it works on me, it would totally work on you too, you know."

Her smile was so radiant, it made me smile as well.

"Oh. My. God. I want my hair red. With some curls. Please."

I laughed, and instantly her hair was as she had just asked me. She went to my bathroom, screamed some very bad words, and came back saying:

"No, I love you! I'm soooooooo happy to be your friend"

"Glad to know that our friendship is absolutely not interested" I joked.

"It's not. I also appreciate your company from time to time. You know, if I were you, I would work on that cleavage of yours, though. We have a class with Miss Mills this afternoon…"

"Rubes, she can't date students, I already told you that."

"Well, make her regret it… she can't touch, but she can admire the buffet" she winked.

I thought about it for a second, and deepened the said cleavage. Ruby gave me an appreciative smile, took her bags and dragged me out of the room.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked her.

"The gardens! We'll eat on the grass" she grinned.

I smiled at her enthusiasm. It was hard to feel depressed with her.

"So what about a little training of your super cool powers?" she said.

"Depends on the training…"

"Carry my bags for me?"

"It's not about powers, _that_ is slavery" I laughed.

"Not carry them this way, silly! Elevate them and make them follow us, or something" she smiled.

The bags elevated in front of us, and seemed to lead the way.

"Great! Now, take off one of the sandwiches!"

And it kept on like this, up until we finally arrived at the courtyard. She had made me dissembled the sandwich by then. As it all went back in her bag, we noticed a group of students, nonchalantly lying on the grass and eating. I recognized Peter (who was sitting up in the air), Aurora, Belle and Philippe. There was also a Chinese girl I had seen once or twice, and three other persons I had never met.

"Wanna join them?" I asked Ruby.

"Er… not really…"

"You realize you can speak to her, right?"

"Right, but not now" she answered.

We passed next to them, waving hello, but did not stop. We settled one chain away, under a tree.

"You know, it amazes me, how the sun shines underground. I mean, how is it possible to recreate it down here?" I asked.

"We're in a magical place, surrounded by magical people, and this is what surprises you?" Red laughed.

"You're right… I'm still trying to get used to it all…"

We ate, discussing common subjects. Ruby was often glancing at Belle, and I caught the latter looking at my friend several times.

"You should definitely talk to her, Rubes."

"I already did. And I'm not sure she's a… very nice person." She frowned.

"What do you mean by that?" I disbelievingly asked her.

"Remember that day when Regina asked you to stay at the end of her class, after what happened between the boys?"

I nodded. Of course, I remembered it. I had almost kissed her back then.

"Well, we had a little chat at the end of it. And they were all very adamant about how wanderers are inferior, compared to us."

"Well, maybe she was just trying not to disagree with them…"

"Oh no, actually she very much agreed with them, showing evidence of their… _inferiority_. It made me sick. And it doesn't even make sense! She's a vampire!"

I remained silent. I did not know what to reply. This kind of discussions made me uncomfortable, I had a bad feeling about all this. I just shrugged, and addressed her a complying smile. The door of the gardens opened in the distance, and Graham and Regina came in. They seemed to be arguing.

"Fuck. What the hell are they doing here? It's not even that idiot's level!" I growled.

"Apparently, it's not a pleasant conversation, sweetie" Ruby tried to reassure me.

"Yeah, troubles in paradise… I thought she wasn't allowed to date her students" I angrily said.

"Technically, he's not her student… fourth and fifth years have other teachers…"

"Great."

They had stopped, still arguing, not even noticing the people surrounding them. And I just fixed them, studying her. She was breathtaking, as always. She seemed to have gain even more self-confidence over the months. As always, her short skirt fitted her perfectly, emphasizing her perfect curves. Her hands were in the pockets of her black jacket, and her killer hills accentuated her femme fatale side. I was so absorbed in my contemplation, that I did not notice the door opening once again. Ruby gently poked me.

"Neal's here, Ems".

And indeed he was, coming to us. Seeing his face expression, I figured I would have a hell of a time.

"Great" I repeated.

But as he passed near the other group, some of them shouted at him. Her turned to them, and asked something. We were not close enough to hear it, but Regina and Graham did. They turned to them, and impassively watched the interaction. Soon, it became obvious what it was about. The taleners were making fun of him, again. And they were outnumbering him. Suddenly, Neal was elevated in the air, his head upside down. It outraged me, and I got up instantly, coordinately with Red. We ran to them, and I screamed something like "What the hell do you think you're doing?". They watched us coming and when we arrived close enough, Peter answered me:

"Swan, when will you understand that you're not supposed to defend them?"

I did not reply, I simply raised my hand, taking control of Neal, breaking Peter's telekinesis and gently pulled him back to the ground. He immediately reached his wand.

"Stop!" Ruby exclaimed.

But nobody listened; they all got up and attacked each other. It was a complete mess. Neal had created a magical shield around him, so none of the physical attacks reached him. But I was sick of it. I raised my hand again, and elevated the eight taleners, blocking their moves, and stopping their powers. Peter and Philippe tried to break my grip but failed.

"Now, you listen to me…"

"Free us, Swan" Philippe interrupted me.

I silenced them all.

"As I said, you listen to me. What you're doing is sick. We're all the same; there are no fucking inferiority between us. Do you realize your behavior?"

Ruby continued:

"What is wrong with you, people? We all have powers, why would you take into account the source of it?"

"This is just fucking wrong…" I added.

"Language, dear."

Her voice ran through all of my body, sending shivers in my spine, and arousing me beyond imaginable. By the sound of it, I figured she was not far away behind me. Remembering who she was with, it just made me angrier. I did not turn around, and just waited for her to continue.

"Now, let them go."

"I'm not sure they understood the lesson quite yet, Professor" I angrily replied.

"It's not up to you to teach them, Miss Swan"

At that, I finally turned back, rage written all over my face.

"Right. _That_ is up to you. And yet, seeing eight people bullying one person didn't seem to bother you. Oh but wait, I'm sorry. You were probably too busy doing other things…"

I pointedly looked at Graham, then back at her. She stared at me, furious. But her rage didn't match mine. She raised her hand and tried to free them of my grip. I felt her try. It took me all my rage not to let her power control mine. When she did not succeed, she disbelievingly looked at me. I smirked. Then Neal laughed and said:

"Oh my God, Ems. I knew you were good, but this is just priceless, sweetie."

And this time, the rage I saw in _her_ eyes was completely surpassing mine. The taleners were freed in the instant. She then said:

"Miss French, I expect to see you at the lecture, tonight. Same for you, Mr Pan. The three of you – she was pointing at Ruby, Neal and I – in my office. Now."

She turned, and rapidly walked away, Graham just behind her. We silently followed. I was wondering why Belle and Peter were assisting a lecture we had not heard about. I questioningly looked at Ruby, but she seemed lost, too. Graham excused himself and went away after saying "I'll see you later", touching her arm. I felt the jealousy running through me for the hundredth time that day. As he walked away, I made him stumble. Nobody noticed but Regina who sniggered. I smiled. She entered her office, and held the door for us. I came in last, looking straight in her eyes, and brushed her arm with my own. She cleared her throat, averting her eyes, and closed the door. She made three chairs appear, inviting us to sit down. She went to sit on her own chair, behind her desk, and stared at us for several seconds. However, she did not maintain any eye-contact with me.

"I cannot tolerate this sort of behavior…"

Neal immediately and angrily interrupted her. She murderously looked at him:

"What the…? We didn't do anything! I was just walking, and here I am, six feet off the ground, and not able to move! Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Mr. Cassidy, your punishment is now of one week."

"One week of what?" he suspiciously asked.

"Community services… you will keep clean the toilets" she devilishly smirked.

He gasped, his mouth wide open, completely astonished by the injustice. He did not even reply.

"As for you, Miss Lucas, I would have thought you were smarter than that. Nonetheless, you did not use your powers to fight, and consequently, you will only clean up the gardens this afternoon."

I laughed at that. The unfairness of it all just seemed too great. Ruby had not even said anything rude. Regina turned to me, and said:

"Something funny, Miss Swan?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Something very funny. What about the wanderophobic assholes?"

"For the second time today, Miss Swan, watch your tongue…"

"Oh don't worry, Professor, I perfectly know when to use _my tongue_." I interrupted her, smirking. I paused a second, and she was taken aback, but before she could answer my innuendo, I continued "But I don't think that describing that kind of discriminatory behaviors with bad words, is something to be reprimanded".

"And again, Miss Swan, it is not up to you to decide that. You will effectuate one month of community services."

"What should I take care of? The toilets and the gardens being taken, would you like me to clean your room?" I teased.

She inhaled deeply as if she was outraged by my presumptuousness. But I knew better: she was probably trying not to picture me cleaning her room. And as her cheeks reddened (proving me right), I could not help but sneer. That angered her.

"My room is clean enough, dear. Thank you for the offer, I shall keep that in mind, if some day it gets dirty and requires your… services." She grinned. "But as for now, you will focus on every hallway of every floors of every building of the first years."

I closed my eyes, picturing it cleaned up, felt the magic ran through me, and opened my eyes again, smugly saying:

"Done"

Her smirk vanished. Ruby and Neal giggled.

"May I have a word in private, Professor?"

She did not answer right away. I could see in her eyes, she wanted to murder me. I had really upset her, and she was clearly not used to be contradicted. But she also seemed to be greatly aroused. Almost as much as I was. Her eyes lowered, and met my cleavage. I mentally thanked Ruby for her advice. I tried to remain stoic, while a wave of desire ran through my body. She rapidly looked at Ruby – who was knowingly smirking – and at Neal – who seemed completely lost – and said:

"Leave us."

They quickly got up and left. As soon as the door was closed, I got up too, and magically locked the door. The sound made her eyes darkened instantly; she stood up, her hands on the desk in front of her. I tried to go near her, but she magically stopped me, and said:

"Don't"

I could not move anymore, and could not help to frustratingly growl. Clearly, the sound had some kind of impact on her, because she stiffened and bit her lower lip.

"What do you wish to tell me, Miss Swan?" she tensely asked.

"What is the lecture about?" I annoyingly answer.

"I beg your pardon?" she said, lost.

"You talked about a lecture tonight with Peter and Aurora. I wanted to know what this is about" I explained.

She restrained her laugh.

"And is there a reason why I should be entitled to give you details about something you are not concerned about?" she sadistically smiled.

"Well, yeah. I wanna know, and I'm pretty sure you do want to tell me about it … you wouldn't have mentioned it in front of me otherwise."

Regina did not answer anything, she just freed me from her magical grip.

"So?" I insisted.

"They accepted the job my mother was willing to offer them."

My mouth fell at that. How stupid I could have been to assume that the offer was only for me. Regina smiled at my reaction.

"Don't look so surprised, dear. You are not the only valuable first year I've seen."

"I could easily defeat them both at the same time, though" I childishly answered.

"You can still change your mind, you know?" she smiled.

"Is Graham part of your team?". I did not even bother to hide the jealousy in my voice.

"Yes, he is" she casually answered.

"And what were you two fighting about?" I angrily kept on, already knowing she would snap at me for my arrogance.

She stared at me again, smiling. A loud chuckle grew in her throat.

"I cannot believe I'm letting you ask me all these questions… had it been any other student, they would have been expelled by now…"

I did not answer. Instead, I bypassed her desk, and my hand reached her arm, caressing it very slowly from the bottom up. I stopped at her collarbone. She was frozen. Her hands were still on the desk and her face had not followed my moves. But her eyes closed.

"Will you take the job?" she hoarsely asked.

Her voice shot another wave of desire through all my body. The wetness I felt between my legs felt so uncomfortable… and yet, I did not give her the answer we both wanted.

"No".

She exhaled deeply, her eyes still closed, and my hand still brushing her arm from up to the bottom. Her disappointment was written all over her face.

"Then this has to stop." She murmured.

But instead of retrieving, I stepped closer to her, my front against her back, and whispered in her ear:

"Why? Scared to get sentimental?"

"Absolutely not. Love is weakness, Miss Swan" she sarcastically answered.

"Who said anything about love, Professor?" I amusingly whispered.

"I'm sorry, wasn't it implied?"

"Particularly revealing of your feelings, if you want my opinion" I murmured.

She suddenly turned around. I tried to grip her hips, but she blocked my wrists in her hands.

"How can you be such a bitch in front of everybody else, and so human with me?" I teasingly grinned.

She frowned.

"The real question would be, how can I let you say such things in front of me?" she slowly answered.

"We both know the answer to that."

I intensely looked at her, entwining our fingers. She let me do so. She seemed captivated.

"Indeed."

I stepped closer until our lips brushed.

"Please don't" she frustratingly moaned. But her eyes closed.

My desire increased a hundredfold. It felt like a monster had grown in my stomach and was now ripping it in pieces, while butterflies tried to escape it, flying all around. My core hurt, needing her. Nobody had ever had such an impact on me. I closed my eyes, too. I needed to feel. I let her scent intoxicate me. Our mouths were slightly opened, inhaling and exhaling deeply, erratically. She moaned again, silently asking me to kiss her. My hand released hers, grasping her neck and passionately bringing her to me. But as our lips finally fully and brutally met, someone knocked at the door. She jerked and pushed me away, avoiding my eyes. She turned around, looking at the front door, and quietly asked me to sit. I was too astonished and frustrated to think straight. I did as she asked. She cleared her throat and loudly said:

"Come in".

An old woman I had never seen before came in, followed by Regina's puppy. When I saw Graham, I snorted. The noise brought the woman's attention on me. I felt her stare, but kept on despising fixing the wolf. He looked back at me, amused. It enraged me even more.

"Regina, I hope we are not interrupting anything, dear." The woman said.

I finally looked at her. She must have been fifty-ish. Her posture was regal, and her attitude was just… haughty. As if she was losing her time, and wanted everybody to realize how lucky they were to benefit from her presence. She reminded me a little of Regina when she was in public.

"Of course not, Mother." Regina answered.

My eyebrows rose. So here was Cora Mills, the leader of the magical world.

"Good." She looked at me again, and said, "Leave us, dear."

I disbelievingly snorted again. I turned to Regina, but she did not look at me. The jealousy was back when I realized that Graham was not dismissed as well. Looking back at Regina's mother, I sarcastically answered:

"But of course. It was a delight, shared I'm sure, to finally meet, your Majesty." Turning one last time to Regina, I added, "I'm looking forward to finishing this… discussion, Professor".

She looked at me, astonished by my audacity. But she did not reply anything, and it infuriated me again.

I turned around, and as I walked to exit, I stared at Graham, furious. I opened the door, and was about to close it, when Cora's voice reasoned:

"What's your name, girl?"

My grip on the door handle tightened when she called me girl.

"Emma Swan."

She grinned and turned to Regina:

"This is her?"

Regina simply nodded affirmatively at her mother. Cora looked at me again, detailing me from head to toe.

"I have heard so much about you, Emma Swan".

"Probably not as much as I have heard about you, Ma'am" I answered, looking at her intensely.

"Did Regina tell you about my offer?"

"Yes." I annoyingly answered. I was still in the doorway, and was fed up with her haughty tone.

"I assume I will see you tonight, then." She answered, dismissing me.

"No you won't, I'm not invited."

Her eyebrows rose.

"And why is that?" she disbelievingly asked her daughter.

"Because I turned down your very generous offer, Ma'am." I answered.

I did not wait for her reply, and quietly shut the door.


	6. Chapter 6

"_Did Regina tell you about my offer?" _

"_Yes." I annoyingly answered. I was still in the doorway, and was fed up with her haughty tone. _

"_I assume I will see you tonight, then." She answered, dismissing me._

"_No you won't, I'm not invited."_

_Her eyebrows rose._

"_And why is that?" she disbelievingly asked her daughter._

"_Because I turned down your very generous offer, Ma'am." I answered._

_I did not wait for her reply, and quietly shut the door. _

**Chapter 6. Power.**

I walked through the corridors, still angry with what had just happened. First, Cora had stopped me from kissing Regina. Second, she had rudely dismissed me. Third, Graham was once again with her, when I was not. I just could not process everything that had occurred. I had a lesson in less than an hour time with Regina. I was not sure if I would be able to survive that. Ruby was waiting for me in front of our building. I explained to her everything. She did not know what to advise me, she knew how much complicated the situation was. But she was positively astonished by my audacity with our new ruler. We decided not to go back to our flat, but to wait in Regina's class instead. And Ruby wanted to train me, again. So we did. A part of me wanted my teacher to come in and participate to our practice. I wanted her to see my progresses. Another part just wanted to slap her in the face and never see her again, for she had not defended me when her mother entered, nor said that she was indeed interrupting us. Fucking kiss-blocker…

So I transformed a table into a tiger, then back in a table. I elevated a chair in the air, dissembling it, and then reassembling it. I froze multiple items, and ejected them on the wall, destroying them to fix them afterwards.

"Ok, now fight me without your powers." Ruby suddenly said.

"Wait, what? I don't know how to fight Rubes!"

"Then, how will you do if you need to in the real world? You won't be able to use your powers, there!" she exclaimed.

"Oh please, I never needed it before! I know how to protect myself, that should be enough, honey." I tried to reassure her.

"Please! I want to train you! I'm a really good fighter, and it won't kill you to learn some of my stuff!"

I could not refuse her that. So I agreed. She slowly and methodically explained many moves of self-protection, and attack ones. She showed me where I needed to hit to hurt hard. She advised me on how to be faster.

"You should picture a real fighter now, and we could try to beat him!" she suggested.

"You know I never tried to picture a human being before" I said.

"So? I'm sure you can do it, anyways!"

A cold voice I recognized right away interrupted her:

"I would not be so sure. It is a really high advanced form of magic which even some of the most experienced taleners do not master."

Cora was approaching, followed by Regina and Graham. They were all looking at us, but Regina was back at avoiding eye-contact with me. It was really becoming infuriating. And I felt the rage running once again in my veins. I closed my eyes, picturing a samurai, focusing on my anger to create him. In my head, he was a little like Jet Li, and fought as a ninja. I was so focused I could almost hear his scream. Actually I could hear his scream.

"Oh my God" Ruby exclaimed.

I opened my eyes, and here he was, running to me. I was so shocked I did not know what to do, when Ruby appeared in front of me and began to fight against him. My surprise overcome, I joined her and tried to do as she had taught me moments before. Ruby was a true fighter. She had that in her blood. Her every movement was so fluid, and beautiful, so confident it was disturbing. Even if "Jet Li" was incredible, he did not stand a chance against her. Suddenly, as if choreographed, our fists hit at the exact same time the man's plexus. He was thrown in the air at the strength of the impact, and I watched him disappear as if in slow motion.

Ruby turned to me and laughed. The adrenaline, the surprise, or maybe the credibility gap of it all made me laugh as well. The laughs only grew harder and harder, especially when we noticed our three spectators watching us, flabbergasted. Cora seemed to be the first to recover, and in a very cold and authoritative tone, she said:

"Ladies?"

I noticed she was not talking to me as a child anymore. We stopped laughing right away and looked at her.

"This was truly… interesting. What is your name?" she asked, looking at Ruby.

"Ruby Lucas"

"And what are your powers?"

"I don't have any. I'm a werewolf."

She looked at her, appreciatively.

"Not every werewolf fight as well as you do, Miss Lucas. Am I not right, Graham?"

The latter, slowly nodded, his gaze focused on my best friend. Ruby just shrugged and explained:

"I took many lessons of fight before".

"I see. Miss Lucas, would you be interested in working for your Government?"

"I couldn't say I am, Ma'am."

This time, Cora seemed so stupefied, her mouth fell. She did not say anything for several seconds. It was the second time she had heard students refusing her offers in the same day. And I was so proud of Ruby for rejecting it, as well. It made me smile. I looked at Regina, who was finally looking back at me. What shocked me the most was that she also seemed proud. It confused me beyond imaginable, but she averted her gaze right away and the pride vanished from her eyes as fast as it had appeared.

"May I ask the reason of your… rejections?" Cora slowly asked to both of us.

Ruby looked at me, waiting for me to answer, allowing me to speak in her name. But I could not simply tell her that we did not like her discriminatory ruling… so I did not exactly know what to answer.

"I'm sure you will be able to find much more experienced and talented employees" I calmly offered her.

She stared back, lost in her thoughts. She seemed angry, and annoyed with our attitudes.

"And I'm _sure_ this is not your place to question my beliefs, dear."

"Cora, if I may, the main problem seems to be about your position towards the wanderers", Graham intervened.

I looked at him, furious. How dared him?

"What are you referring to, Graham?" Cora replied, surprised.

"Earlier today, we witnessed a fight. Some taleners bullied a wanderer… Swan and Lucas interfered."

"And this is praiseworthy, ladies. I do not wish wanderers to be attacked. We are all equals"

"Then, I'd say that it is high time you've realized the consequences of your debatable decisions" I angrily said. "Wanderers are being more and more bullied because of the law you announced".

"Is that so, Miss Swan?" Cora coldly replied. "Let me guess. Your boyfriend is a wanderer?"

Regina violently coughed at that. Her eyes were shouting daggers at Cora's back.

"This is highly inappropriate, Mrs. Mills" Ruby growled.

"I agree" added Regina.

"Come on, Rubes. This is a fair question" I threateningly smiled, ignoring Regina's intervention. "Let me guess. You assume I have boyfriends because I'm a woman, Mrs. Mills. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I don't… _appreciate_ men's company as much as women's. And before you ask, my girlfriend is not a wanderer."

Cora looked pointedly at Ruby and smiled. I ignored her assumptions, and provocatively stared at Regina. She stared back, impassively. And her gaze made me die inside. I could not stand being apart from her anymore.

"I see…" Cora answered.

"I highly doubt that, Your Highness" I laughed.

Before she could reply, the first students entered the classroom. Regina cleared her throat, and went to her desk. Cora looked one more time at us, and went at the back of the room, Graham following her. I could not stand being so close to Regina and pretend that nothing was going on between us. I needed to think.

"I need to be alone" I said to Ruby.

She nodded, understanding. So I left. And as I walked, I found myself not being relieved in any possible way. Barely few months ago, I was a bounty hunter, beaten by my foster dad. And now, I had powers, friends and… a kind of love. This was all so fucked up. It made me want to cry and laugh at the same time. Me, the lonely child, fighting against the world every single day of my life: I was wanted. Two guys pined for me, a real friend got my back, and even our President wanted me to work for her. It was overwhelming. But now that I had met Regina, everything else seemed to come second. Even Rubes.

I needed to see the real world, find my roots again… make sense of all the craziness surrounding me. So this is where I teleported myself. In my old room, the last I had left few months ago. Nothing had changed. Except for one thing: a little girl was sitting at my old desk, drawing. I did not want to scare her, so I pictured myself invisible. And as I looked to my hand, I did not see anything… it had worked.

The girl seemed to be very young, 9 years old at most. She was blond, and very thin. I went near her to see what she was doing. Her drawing was breathtaking for such a little girl. A very dark forest seemed to surround a little blond girl. The rain was pouring, and the wind blowing. And the child was crying. It made me so sad to see such a thing. It scared me to death when I realized what my foster dad must have inflicted her. As I thought about him, I heard heavy footsteps coming. "Dad" was home. The child trembled, and then froze. He entered the room, brutally opening the door. He yelled at her (her name was Charlize), asking why she had not woken him up. She quickly turned to him, and I saw her face. She looked like a frightened angel. Her eyes were crystal blue. She apologized, and her voice was a whisper. It infuriated me. How could he do that to such a kid?

I wanted to help her, put her out of her misery by killing the monster. But it would do no good to her, for she probably would go back to foster care, and God knows what would wait for her there… my only option was to change his behavior. Make him a good man. But how could I do that? My picturing power most certainly could not help, but it was at least worth a try. So I tried to focus on my anger, and my desire to help the angel. I looked at her eyes, focused on his yelling, and tried to picture a real dad. A dad who would love her as she truly deserved. A dad who would comfort her when needed, who would dry her tears and soothe her deepest fears. A dad who would love her as much as she deserved… as much as I had been desperate to be. His screams stopped when we saw a single tear dropping from her eye. He came closer to her, and kneeled in front of her. She tried to put as much space as possible between them. But he did not step back. I was going to physically prevent him from hurting her, when he said:

"I'm sorry".

His raspy voice was full of remorse, and it was shaking. He caught one of her hand between his own, and gently kissed it.

"It was not your fault, and I promise you I will never yell at you again".

The eyes of the angel were wide open, she was shocked. She did not believe him. But I knew she would eventually. I had succeeded.

I went back to my own room and laid down on my bed. I could help so many people with that gift. So many lives I could save, so many souls I could appease. And they wanted me to work for _the Government_? I had never been so sure about anything else ever before. I would fight for human beings in need. I would stop the suffering, the wars, and the pain. I would change the world because I was no longer a random helpless child. I had the power to make a difference, a real one. And I would use it. Ruby entered my room, and I explained her my epiphany.

"We need to leave this place, Rubes. We need to help people!"

"How do you want me to help you? Every month I turn into a wolf! And trust me, you don't want humans anywhere near me at that time!"

"We will find a way! I will picture you human! It worked on Graham! You don't have to be a wolf if you don't want to!"

"I can't Ems… I will be of no help to you. It's useless… but you have to. You're right, you have the power to do it, so just do it! Go save the world!"

She seemed sad. We both knew my decision was made. The magical world was not my world. I had thrived my whole life to exist, to survive into the real world. No one should ever go through that kind of things.

"It's the first of February" I whispered.

"Yes, it is…" she answered.

"Every year, on this day, I will come to you, and take you away. You will explain me your world, and I'll explain you mine. I cannot lose you, Rubes"

She burst into tears, and I hugged her, crying too. We remained like this for hours, reassuring each other, making plans. I made her vow to never accept Cora's offers, and fight for what was right. She made me promise to come back. I packed my things, and kissed her goodbye. I was about to vanish, when she suddenly said:

"What about Regina?"

"If I stay, she'll destroy me. I cannot lose my sanity." I smiled to her. "It's better that way"

"Won't you say goodbye?"

"… No."

And I left.

Four months passed. I moved to San Francisco. I helped people as much as possible. Ant to do so, I needed to work somewhere I could find persons in need. And, of course, I also needed money. So, I created some (enough to be considered very wealthy), and worked as a social worker. I felt helpful. I had finally found my way and I was feeling complete, worthy. My house was big enough to welcome the homeless. I was never alone. Soon, my reputation grew, and people knew who to get in touch with if they needed anything. I was not helping the whole wide world yet, but at least I was useful.

Although I had agreed not to see Ruby again soon, we would call each other at least twice a week. At first, it was not planned, but I quickly realized how much I missed her. And unconsciously, I was dying to have news from Regina. All my dreams were about her, all my thoughts were for her. I could not get her out of my head. According to Rubes, Regina had been furious when she had learned about my desertion. And she became moody and bitter while the weeks passed. It tore my heart apart to know that. Not because I had not suspected as much, but because I missed her too.

It was June, and Ruby was on holydays, the school was over. She was planning to spend her summer with her grandmother. Regina was now working for her mother, at the Government, along with Graham, Peter and Belle. Ruby was afraid of the outcomes it would lead to. But I could not believe Regina would do bad things: despite the fact that she could act like a bitch, I was convinced that deep down, she was a good person. I trusted her.

"Hey Red!" I said, answering my best friend's call.

"Ems, we have a problem." She sounded alarmed.

"What's wrong, Rubes?" I urged her.

"Cora. She passed a bill. Every wanderer must be registered, and wear a sewn yellow star on their jacket. Remember the Nazis? Same here."

"What the hell? But doesn't Regina prevent that?" I was astonished.

"Prevent? She registers them… and she is supposed to arrest those who do not register…"

"It can't be, Rubes… it must be a huge misunderstanding… maybe they just need to do that to help us recognize one another!"

"Good explanation, Sherlock! What don't we wear red stars, then?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you would love to wear more red…" I tried to joke.

"Please, Ems, do not make fun of it. It's a serious matter. Remember when she created different schools for wanderers? It provoked a huge wave of discrimination. I let you guess how things are, now underworld."

"Look, there's nothing we can do right now. And I trust Regina. I know she won't do anything bad. She's a good person, she will confront her mother if things get out of hand."

"Yeah… probably the same she helped you, when those dickheads attacked Neal…" she bitterly answered.

I could not reply anything…. She had a point. But I could not think like this of Regina.

"Still there?" Ruby asked.

"Yes… I… Er… we need to wait and see. I'm sure things will work out. We just have to give it some time. But keep me posted. I will help if it gets ugly."

"Let's hope it doesn't. Thanks. Bye."

She sounded angry, and disappointed. She didn't even give me the time to answer her, and she hung up. Three other months passed, and the news I got from Ruby were more and more alarming. The bullying, and the discriminations did not stop. Wanderers and taleners could not share the same parks or toilets anymore. The attacks were frequenter and frequenter.

But still, I could not resolve to think that Regina was responsible of this. Nor that she would let things got bad. There had to be an explanation. I stayed at a distance, keeping in touch with Ruby, who was now beginning her second year. Her professors had changed, and they seemed awful. Regina's replacement was called Zelena and Red called her wicked. She was a talener, too (surprisingly, even professors were not wanderers anymore), and she was a pain in the ass. Neal and Killian were not in the same school anymore, so Ruby had no idea how they were.

And then, at the end of September, a bomb was dropped. A wanderer had been attacked by taleners. He had lost a hand. The worst of it was that when he had filed a suit, he had been the one to be arrested.

"People are becoming crazy… they fight in the streets for what happened. Wanderers attack taleners and vice versa. It's becoming a civil war…" Ruby had told me on the phone.

That night, I could not sleep. Ruby had mentioned a civil war. And I knew I could not ignore it any longer… I could not keep on defending Regina or finding her reasons. She had none. I knew I had been blinded, and did not do what I would have had to do. But I was scared. To leave my life, abandon the people who needed me… I was scared to confront _her_.

But the next day, I had taken my resolution. I could not wait any longer and do nothing. I packed my stuff, and took dispositions not to leave a mess behind me, in the real world. As I was about to go, Ruby called one last time.

"Ems… two things to tell you, and after that, you better bring back your sorry ass right away." She sounded hysterical.

"Rubes, please calm down. Fuck, what happened? I'm already on my way!"

"The man that got his hand snatched, it's Killian. He escaped his prison, and rallied many wanderers with him. They're hiding somewhere. To find them, Cora commanded to arrest suspects, who are obviously wanderers. They're being deported God knows where. And among the squad entitled to arrest and interrogate them, there are Belle, Peter and Graham… they're led by Regina."

And just like that, my world violently collapsed. Regina. It was a burning slap in my face, and I felt smashed by my anger, frustration, and regrets.


	7. Chapter 7

"_The man that got his hand snatched, it's Killian. He escaped his prison, and rallied many wanderers with him. They're hiding somewhere. To find them, Cora commanded to arrest suspects, who are obviously wanderers. They're being deported God knows where. And among the squad entitled to arrest and interrogate them, there are Belle, Peter and Graham… they're led by Regina."_

_And just like that, my world violently collapsed. Regina. It was a burning slap in my face, and I felt smashed by my anger, frustration, and regrets._

**Chapter 7. Horror History**

Everything that happened the following week is kind of blurred. I went to Ruby, and I tried to find Killian. After two days, we were with him. Neal and thirty other wanderers were with them as well. They were hiding in a cave which was inside of a cliff, overhanging a forest. They had created magical entrances, and had protected them with magical spells, rejecting undesirable persons. When we told them what was going on outside, we agreed that we needed to act, to protect innocent wanderers.

Thanks to my picturing powers and their magical spells, we significantly extended the cave, creating individual rooms from up to the bottom of the cave. The second floor was dedicated to training, and the highest floor was a sort of meeting room, surrounded by computers and televisions. Once again, thanks to our powers, we connected the screens to what was happening in the magical world. Killian was a hacker. He pirated the Government's databases, and we accessed their files. We found the lists of the deported (the number was alarming), but no mention was given as to where they had been transferred. We also hacked a list of suspected persons, and we agreed to find these persons to hide them with us. The cliff could contain hundreds of rooms… we could save them.

The rest of the week passed this way. We organized rescuing raids. We did not want to draw attention, so we traveled in cars and motorcycles by groups of two people. In two days, Ruby and I found and hid ten persons. Back in the cliff, wanderers explained to new arrivals how things worked. The most audacious ones helped us find wanderers; the others helped to the life together.

When the Government realized what was happening, they tried to catch us off guard, by finding them before us. A real time trial took place against Regina. They were trying to know who they were fighting against, but we left no clue behind us. We discovered that their suspicions were directed to Killian, which seemed only logical. But we needed to find the place where the deported were transferred.

"We have to find this place!" I exclaimed.

It was midnight, and we had been discussing for a couple hours. I was exhausted, and frustrated. As always, all my thoughts were for Regina. But now, all the love was mixed with hatred. She had deported a child we had not been able to save, since he was not on the lists. We had found his name after the deportation. And not knowing where they were, nor what they were enduring was awful.

"We know we do, sweetheart. But it's kind of a very well hidden information" sarcastically answered Killian.

"We need to infiltrate the Government!" I added.

"Too risky" said Neal.

"We have to save these people! We don't know what she's doing to them! They may be tortured or killed right now!" I screamed.

"She would not do _that_, Ems. She cannot torture a child." tried to reassure me Ruby.

"I underestimated her once, Rubes. It won't happen ever again. We need to find them. We need to rally taleners, and make them work for the Government. We need spies."

Nobody talked. A guy named Felix aggressively said:

"Who are you to make decisions for the rest of us? And _you_ are a talener! Why don't_ you_ take that risk?"

I remembered that guy. He had studied with us, and was very close to Peter once. It was before the whole crisis. Peter had betrayed him, choosing side against him. The hatred Felix was feeling toward him, made me think that maybe his feelings had been something more than friendly. And it made me sad for him. Especially if they had been reciprocated. But right now, I just wanted to punch the guy in the face.

Ruby growled, and threateningly answered:

"Because Regina knows her position on the matter. She would be arrested right away. And to answer your first question, she makes decisions for us, because she is our leader."

It provoked many reactions. The majority of people seemed to agree with that. But some others did not.

"Who said that? She's not even a wanderer!"

"Killian rallied us! He should be the one to lead us!"

Killian loudly coughed, silently asking for silence. We all looked at him.

"When I lost my hand and got arrested, I realized I needed to hide to save my life. I assembled only wanderers I knew. When Emma joined us, she created all of this. She saved at least twice as many people than me. She's not a wanderer? So? What's the difference? You're falling for that discriminatory crap, too? If it is so, I will ask you to leave this place right away. I personally vote for Swan as our leader."

"So do I!" exclaimed Neal.

"Great speech, Killian. Let's vote. Those who vote for Emma, raise your hands." approved Ruby.

Three quarters voted for me. The others were reluctant, but not against the idea. I then said:

"Fine. Now that this problem is solved, I need you to listen to me. First of all, we need code names. And from now on, the war begins. In no circumstances will you name each other by your real names. We have to protect each other. Our enemies will also have code names. Alright?"

Killian, who had replaced his hand by a hook, unsurprisingly chose Captain Hook. Neal chose to be the Crocodile. Ruby opted for Red Riding Hood. All those nicknames seemed pretty much obvious for any person who wanted to break them, but it was better than nothing. I named Regina the Evil Queen.

"What about you, Ems?" asked Ruby.

"No idea… who do you want me to be?"

"The Savior" Neal answered.

This is how the most feared names of all times were created. The Evil Queen against the Savior.

One month passed, dozens of raids had been effectuated, fiftyish people had been saved, and we had infiltrated the Government. Ariel was helping us, as well as Rapunzel and Mary-Margaret, our former professor. They had spread the informations we wanted them to have. They now knew that our army was led by a person called "The Savior", whom nobody had ever seen; that we were looking for every wanderer to ally with us; and that we were ready to fight. We wanted them to fear us. They were also aware of the nicknames we gave them: The Evil Queen, Peter Pan, the Hunter, The Beauty, and the Queen of Hearts. Soon we discovered that they were arresting people all around the world. We had to extend our researches. We traveled in the UK, France, Spain, and many other European, African and Asian countries.

I could never rest. I was the only one to be able to teleport… all day long was about transporting raids all around the world, and getting them back "home". My nights were spent training with Ruby, the only one I truly trusted. She made a point in training me physically, even though I did not see how this could help me in a magical fight. But I never refused: it was my ramrod. It expending my energy. There were the only moments I could have without thinking about _her_.

I knew I would have to directly confront her someday. It was becoming an obsession. I hated her with all my heart for what she had done. And yet, I could not suppress my desire for her. Every dreams I had reminded me of that. One of the reasons why I couldn't sleep anymore. I replaced the lack of sleep with my picturing power which gave me the illusion that I was not tired. Ruby was not really in a better condition. The exact same thing was happening to her, with Belle. But she had no picturing power. So I helped her a lot.

A routine came into place. Every morning, at 5 am, I would picture us rested. Then, we would drink a coffee together. Then I would make us showered, dressed and made up. We would go on the highest floor to check on the databases, see who we would have to save, and where we would need to go, establishing a schedule for the day. At 7 am, our raids would form, and depart. All day long I would travel, and come back, again and again. At 6 pm, a meeting with Killian, Neal, Ruby and a few important wanderers was made to talk about our progresses, weaknesses and schedules. At 9 pm, Ruby and I would go to the gym floor and train all night long, up until 5 am. And then, everything would start over.

My body was becoming much muscled. My endurance, my strength and my powers had improved so much I did not recognized myself anymore. I could say the same for Ruby. We became respected, feared and desired among our own clan.

Killian and Neal kept hitting on me. But I never let them approach again. I was longing for only one person, and I knew I would never touch her again. Nothing else mattered but saving people and training ourselves.

Three months later, we had saved five hundreds persons, and only half of the cliff was inhabited. We had lost one hundred wanderers, taken by the Government. The first fights had taken place. Graham had killed one of us during a raid. My men had the instruction not to kill anyone, but they could injure them permanently. It was hard for them to respect that, since one of their friends had been murdered. They wanted blood.

Mary-Margaret told us that they mostly knew who we were (except for me). This meant that a mole was among us. The bright side was that there were more and more spies in the Government to rally us. Rapunzel had found two new allies, who would name them the Apple and the Teacup: they were giving us fundamental clues. Our biggest successes had been made thanks to them. But still, we had no idea where the wanderers were deported. My picturing power did not succeed in locating them: I assumed Regina was blocking me. She was as good as I was, if not better. I had no idea how I was supposed to defeat her. A part of me didn't even want to…

Cora was acting crueler and crueler. Wanderers became a big no-no, while her dictatorship took place. Vampires were mostly working for the Government, whilst werewolves tended to take position for us. But no one could know for sure who was with whom, and it was a total chaos. Between denunciations and treasons, the terror arose.

It was 6pm when we headed to the council room. Neal sounded panicked:

"Savior, we have a problem. Hook just found in the Government's database that Cora intended to extend her dictatorship to humans. She wants to rule them as well…"

"Contact Snow, Long-Hair and the Little Mermaid. They must get closer to the leaders and dissuade them. Or at least tell us, how she intends to do that."

Neal immediately left the room.

"Hook. I need you to hack the magical network. We need to give a message to all of them."

"What sort of message, Savior?"

"A videotape. They need to see my face."

They all looked at me, flabbergasted.

"No way" calmly said Ruby. For the first time, she had disagreed with me.

"Rubes…"

"No way, Ems. When they see your face, they'll know who to kill. This is an information no one must know. Fearing the unknown is far more powerful than anything else. You know that. We have this advantage on them, there's no way we're blowing it!"

"Red, we have to show everybody how strong we are! We have to let them know that we're fighting! That we can protect them! We need to lead them to rebellion."

"Ok, but you cannot show your face! Let Hook show his! The war began with him, anyway!"

We all turned to him.

"I accept, if this is your way to ask my permission. And I agree with Red…"

I was about to answer when a window opened on all the computers' screens. As I approached them, I saw that it was an alert. Two taleners were heading to get a teenager in Marseille, France. Probably another wanderer.

"Rubes, come with me?" I said.

"You're really asking, sweetie?" she laughed. "Give me proper suits, though! We cannot go for a rescue or a fight in those jeans…"

I pictured us in leather dark suits. We had black boots, skinny black leather pants, a black laced corset, a black leather jacket and a heavy dark make-up. Both our hairs were loosed and curled. I made a point to always make an impression in the hypothesis we would be seen. And by the looks directed to us by my men, I assumed we succeeded. I felt power rushing through my veins. Ruby devilishly smiled at me, appreciative. I knew she loved this.

"Let's go" I simply said, taking her hand in mine.

We arrived in front of a dilapidated house. The sun was about to rise. And something was off. I had been in so many rescues, and I had never felt like this, before. I had a very bad feeling about this particular mission…

We entered the damaged place. A boy was packing his belongings (which were almost nonexistent), his back turned on us.

"Hey" I calmly said.

He quickly turned around.

"Vous êtes qui? _(Who are you?)_" he worriedly asked.

His hair was brown, as well as his eyes. He looked quite small and gentle.

"Des amis. Tu es sorcier? _(Friends. You're a wanderer?)_" I answered.

"Oui." He simply whispered.

"Ok, tu viens avec nous, on est là pour te protéger, ne t'inquiète pas. _(Ok, come with us, we're here to protect you, don't worry)_".

"Qui me dit que vous n'êtes pas des magiciens? _(How can I be sure you're not taleners?)_" he suspiciously asked.

"Je suis la Sauveuse. Et oui, je suis une magicienne, mais je peux te promettre que tu n'as absolument rien à craindre de nous, gamin. Comment tu t'appelles ? _(I'm the Savior. And yes, I'm a talener, but I can promise you that you have nothing to fear from us, kid. What's your name?)"_

"Henry." He answered.

"Ok, on y va Henry! _(Ok, Let's go, Henry!)_". But the boy did not move. "S'il te plait, Henry, fais nous confiance. _(Please Henry, trust us)_".

He looked at me for a long time. And his eyes brightened. He had seen the sincerity in mine.

"Ok" he shyly said.

"You're not going anywhere, I'm afraid" said a low and cold voice.

I felt my back straightened, my whole body answering to _her_ voice. I had not heard it in an entire year (exception made for my heated dreams). Electricity felt through my veins, whilst I felt my knees weaken. I slowly turned around to face her.

She was dressed almost the same way we were. But she wore a corset black dress, emphasising her perfect breast. Her long black coat only partially hid it. Her plain red lips were smiling at me, revealing her white teeth. And her black eyes, heavily made up, were staring right through me. Although she was smiling, I could feel her rage. I was finally in front of my worst nightmare: Regina.


	8. Chapter 8

"_You're not going anywhere, I'm afraid" said a low and cold voice. _

_I felt my back straightened, my whole body answering to her voice. I had not heard it in an entire year (exception made for my heated dreams). Electricity felt through my veins, whilst I felt my knees weaken. I slowly turned around to face her. _

_She was dressed almost the same way we were. But she wore a corset black dress, emphasising her perfect breast. Her long black coat only partially hid it. Her plain red lips were smiling at me, revealing her white teeth. And her black eyes, heavily made up, were staring right through me. Although she was smiling, I could feel her rage. I was finally in front of my worst nightmare: Regina._

**Chapter 8. Temptation.**

Ruby loudly scoffed. I realized why few seconds later: Belle was here, too. Just the two of them against the two of us. It felt like a written scenario. Or a very bad joke. Or both.

Belle was fixing my best friend. I knew how much the latter had to feel heartbroken. I wanted to protect her more than anything. Belle was going to hurt her… and such a wound was far worse than physical pain: it was never going away.

"Red, take the kid and leave." I authoritatively said.

I did not hear her move. I turned to her, and glared. She returned my stare, silently communicating me her fears, and reluctance. I knew she was scared to leave me alone with the both of them. But she also knew I could handle it, and we needed to protect Henry. Her eyes implored, but she understood. She grabbed Henry's hand, and left, focused on her task, and avoiding Belle's eyes. But while she passed next to Regina, she looked her right in the eyes, stopped and said:

"Harm her, and I will track you down… find you… torture you… and kill you."

Regina loudly laughed, but as Red walked to the door, she did not attempt to stop her. When they got out, I exhaled, relieved. Red and Henry would be safe. And I would easily find them afterwards… if I made it out alive. Even if I did not, Red would know what to do to go back to our place.

"Belle, bring me back the boy" Regina sadistically murmured, never breaking eye-contact with me.

"NO!" I shouted.

I tried to follow Belle to stop her, but Regina blocked me. I could not move anymore, and I felt like the student I had once been with her. Belle exited.

"_You_, stay here… _dear_" Regina purred.

I stared at her, furious. Although I couldn't help being fascinated by her. My attraction to her seemed to have increased throughout the year. But my fears for Ruby took over. And I broke her catch on me.

"I'm no longer your student, Regina."

She looked at me, amused. She raised her eyebrow.

"Too bad it did not happen before…" she teased.

"Had it happened before, you would have found reasons not to be with me anyway." I sarcastically (and bitterly) laughed.

I could not believe I was flirting with her after everything that had occurred. I hated her even more. And I hated myself deeply for wanting her so bad. I needed to change the subject, this was becoming very dangerous.

"You know Belle doesn't stand a chance against Ruby."

"And this is why you wanted to protect your friend so desperately, I suppose…" she teasingly smiled.

My eyes fixed her mouth against my will. Once again she was captivating me.

"Belle knows how to fight" she added.

Her voice was passive and deeper than usual. When I looked at her eyes, I noticed her dilated pupils. And here we were again. This was not just me affected by her presence. She looked me from head to toe, and back up again, detailing me… or my outfit. I felt the habitual yearning for her, somewhere in my lower abdomen… I was reduced to silence, and it had nothing to do with magic.

"So tell me… how did you become the Savior, _Emma_?"

She pronounced my name with so much sexuality in it, I almost fell to my knees and begged her to take me. Almost.

"Who said I am?" I firmly answered. I was proud of my self-control.

"I do." She smirked.

"How did _you_ become the Evil Queen… _Regina_?"

I tried to imitate her as much as possible. By the way her eyes darkened, and her fists clenched, I figured it had had the desired effect. It made me sneer, although I didn't find it funny in the slightest. Quite the opposite, actually.

"An idiot called me that…" she murmured.

"Is that idiot the Savior?" I innocently asked.

"I suppose so" she smirked.

"And the Savior is me."

It was not really a question, more an affirmation. She smiled and said:

"Indeed, it is."

"What makes you so sure?"

"The way you're dressed. Your authority on Ruby. The nickname you gave me. Who else would have referred to me as a Queen?"

"I called your mother the Queen of Hearts… doesn't mean I want her."

I realized my mistake too late. Regina was loudly laughing. I cursed myself for my stupidity.

"Right. So, you truly are the Savior…"

I did not answer.

"Shall we talk about the 'wanting part'?" she innocently asked.

"We shall not, Regina. There is no wanting. There is me about to defeat you. And when it's done, I'll defeat your mother."

She remained silent for several minutes, detailing me. I had no idea what she was thinking. But as the seconds passed, I saw rage fill her eyes. She very slowly walked to me.

"Don't come any closer" I weakly warned her.

I stepped back, but my back hit the wall, just as it had done months ago, in her classroom. I could not move anymore, and didn't want to. Still silent, she kept on walking. Closer and closer. Until our bodies brushed. A shot of electricity ran throughout my whole body when her breast touched mine. My desire became overwhelming. She finally spoke, her deep voice ringing in my ears:

"No wanting, uh?"

She brought herself even closer and my head hit the wall, trying to establish distance. But her lips brushed mine and I lost it. I loudly moaned while exhaling.

"Why did you leave?" she angrily murmured, her pupils so black I could not see the brown of her eyes anymore.

"I don't know". I whispered.

And right now, I was being honest. I did not know anything anymore. I could not proceed anything besides her lips brushing mine, our noses touching, and her eyes burning my pupils.

She stepped back, enough for our lips to lose contact. Enough for me to recover… at least a little.

"Why did you leave?" she repeated.

"Because I felt as if I did not belong there"

"And it never occurred to you that maybe I had the right to know about your decision?" she asked, furious.

"You were my Professor, nothing more. You had made that perfectly clear. Especially in front of your mother. I didn't owe you anything"

Her eyes flashed, and she violently grasped my jacket, pulling me impossibly closer. Losing balance, my hands fell on the first thing I could grip: her hips. We both quivered at the contact.

"Didn't owe me anything? You flirted with me for months, we kissed, and you dare say that I was nothing more than your Professor?"

She was truly and utterly wounded. I could see it in her eyes. But so was I.

"_I_ flirted with _you_? _You _flirted with _me_! We barely kissed, you had a boyfriend, and you became a dangerous psycho! I trusted you! When Ruby told me what was going on underworld, I refused to believe her. I gave you excuses. What are you doing to the deported? Where are you transferring them?"

Even though my words were harsh, I was completely crashed inside. Knowing she felt betrayed broke my heart. It was like a hidden love confession. I fell in love with the woman all over again. Unconsciously, my grip on her hips tightened… whilst hers loosened.

"Those informations are classified. I will certainly not give them to you."

"Even if I ask politely?" I teased. I had no idea where the hell was_ that_ coming from.

"You can try. Say please." She smirked.

This time I was the one to bring myself closer. And as our mouths touched, I languorously whispered:

"Please."

We both knew my pleading was not just about the war. And what had to happen, indeed happened. Our lips fully and finally met. This time, nobody interrupted us. As her tongue entered my mouth, an explosion erupted in my stomach. One of her hands grasped my hair, while the other travelled my body, not seeming to know where to land. She was everywhere. Without even realising it, my hands were acting just like hers. Moans reasoned through the house, as we finally relieved ourselves. Or tortured each other even more.

Kissing her felt like becoming a living firework. My ears were ringing with the sounds of her moans, my stomach was aching with desire and need, and my head was exploding: I could not think of anything else but her. The war, the suffering were long forgotten. She was revolutionising my entire being. I had never been kissed like this before. And I would never be kissed like that by anyone else again. The taste and the feeling of her tongue on mine were divine. I died under her hands, and she brought me directly to heaven. I didn't want to ever go back in the hell of a life without her.

I lifted her up, her legs encircling my waist, and inversed our positions. I pushed her against the wall and tightened my grips on her thighs. It made her moan even louder. It seemed that excitation had no boundaries. Every time I thought I could not be more turned on, she would prove me wrong. I violently bit her lower lip, while her nails dug into my back.

"Fuck me" she heavily breathed.

Even though she had never sounded so sexy or so desirable, these words brought me back to earth. I could not just fuck my worst enemy… how could I survive to lose her again afterwards? Plus, it can seem ridiculous, but I had no intention to _fuck_ her… I wanted something more. Something she was obviously not ready to give me.

I released her legs, putting her back on her feet, and stepped back. I turned my back on her, as I took my head in my hands, trying to make the pain of being apart from her go away. It did not work.

"I take that as a no" she meanly said. "Look at me".

I was scared to do so. If I did, I was fairly positive I would not be able to stop from going back to kissing her senseless… and I would also probably make some very inappropriate things to her. Since I had not turned away, she magically did so. Her made-up had not falter in the slightest from our kiss. It was the only thing I could proceed, and I was oblivious to her rage.

"Second time you refuse me, my dear."

Wait what had she said?

"Second time? I'm not sure I remember the first… that said, I remember yours… where are the deported?"

"I already told you, I can't tell you… my m…"

"I asked politely, Regina!" I interrupted her.

Her eyes flashed.

"Is that the only reason why you kissed me?" her voice had never been so threatening. Of course it was not the only reason. But I could not say that, could I? So, instead, I didn't answer anything. She clenched her fists, and raised one, throwing me in the air at the other end of the house. When my back hit the wall, I heard a loud crack. But it was not coming from me. My training had been intensive enough. No risk for me to break for such a little thing. I had seen worse. I fell on my feet, and looked at the wall behind me. A large crack was forming where my body had impacted.

I had no time to proceed the risks, when I heard a noise coming from Regina. She was leaning against her wall and two tears were running down her cheeks. Without even realising it, I felt her heartbreak and it made me cry, too.

"Why did you do that? Why do you obey your mother? I thought you were a good person, Regina… I trusted you."

Her eyes hardened again.

"You have absolutely no idea of what you are talking about."

"Then explain to me. I really want to understand your reasons for being such a cold bitch." I provoked her.

I heard her magical slap more than I felt it. Yet the burning feeling stayed. The only chair in the foyer moved, as she tried to throw it at me. I blocked it, and our powers finally measured. She was trying to hit me, and I was trying to deviate the chair. Right now, it did not move. It was frozen in the air, while neither Regina nor I succeeded in defeating one another. I held my two hands up, and the chair slightly moved on its right. Regina did as well and it slightly moved to me. I knew it wasn't leading anywhere, so I transformed the chair into a parrot, hoping it would distract her. But it didn't. She simply smirked. Which distracted me greatly. The parrot was thrown at me and landed in my hands. She transformed it in a Rottweiler, and I screamed as it tried to bite me. I made him vanish.

"Fuck Regina!" I exclaimed.

She laughed out loud and bitterly said:

"Too late for that…"

She threw a fireball at me, which I froze. She tried to freeze me, and elevate me, but I broke her power within a few seconds. She disappeared and reappeared right in front of me, punching me in the face. I guess she had understood our magical powers could not be defeated. I thanked Ruby for her training in that moment.

She tried to punch me again, but I blocked her fist, and threw her on the wall, next to me. This time, I was the one in front of her. She tried to kick me, but I blocked it. Few blows were exchanged. But I didn't want to hurt her. Despite all the hatred and all the frustration, I couldn't not harm her. Exasperated, I threw my fist in the wall, next to her head. The impact made the walls tremble and crack. I understood the house was going down. I pressed myself against Regina, encircling her waist with my arms, trying to protect her. I created a sort of protecting bubble, as her hands grasped my jacket. It was not necessary, but I couldn't help burying my head in her neck, deeply smelling her, as if it was the last time – which it probably was. And as the thunder of the collapsing house reasoned in the air, I did not hear anything but her loud moan, and did not feel anything but the electricity running through our linked bodies.

I kissed her pulsing point, even though I knew I shouldn't. She did the same. Our breathings were erratic. She bit my neck and I bit back. I needed more… so much more. I jerked back from her neck and ravished her lips. The kiss was passionate, ravaging. As my right hand tightened her hair, I pulled her back just a little, licking and biting her lower lip, never breaking eye-contact with her. My other hand, grasping her thigh, was slowly and teasingly pulling up. The way she moaned was not human.

"Fuck stop" she erratically exhaled.

"Why?" I whispered, not stopping.

"Because… if you don't… stop now… don't you dare… stop… after…" she was having a really hard time trying to make sense and speak. But I understood her.

I pulled back away from her. "I'm not sure I will be able to control myself if we keep on" I apologetically smiled at her, before realising what I was saying. She's your enemy, Swan. Get it back together.

I looked around and saw the remains of the house, all around us. Regina licked her lips, cleared her throat, and ran her hand through her hair. She then exploded the protection bubble and walked away.

"Where are you going?" I screamed.

"To Belle and Ruby." She simply answered.


End file.
